The Royal Monetary Authority (RMA) of Bhutan has teamed with cross-border crypto payment firm Ripple to pilot a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in the region.
The RMA claims the pilot will help the central bank achieve its mission of boosting financial inclusion in the country to 85% by 2023 through the adoption of digital payments.
The central baCBnk will use Ripple’s CBDC private ledger, which provides financial organisations with access to a network of CBDC ledgers that allows full settlement interoperability while ensuring monetary and technological independence.
Yangchen Tshogyel – RMA deputy governor – claimed that Ripple’s technology means the central bank will be able to pilot retail, wholesale and cross-border payment use cases for a digital Ngultrum alongside its current payments’ infrastructure.
Back in 2019, the RMA introduced the Global Interchange for Financial Transactions system, a system that allows for the electronic transfer of large payments. The new pilot will also work alongside the Bhutanese government’s Electronic Public Expenditure Management System that aims to streamline transactions between the government and banks.
Ripple VP of central bank engagement James Wallis said that the company will work with the RMA to ‘foster our shared values in creating a more sustainable, accessible and financially inclusive reality’.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently revealed it was teaming with Barbados-based FinTech Bitt to introduce a new CBDC called eNaira.
Copyright © 2021 RegTech Analyst
Copyright © 2018 RegTech Analyst
