The National Bank of Rwanda has kickstarted the country’s retail CBDC project and its progress, which would help it move towards a cashless economy with the CBDC’s possible use cases.
The National Bank of Rwanda (BNR) has invited public comments and opinions for a feasibility study of its retail CBDC project. The bank recently completed a feasibility study that explored how digital currency could aid Rwanda’s economy. CBDC adoption has been touted as a major driver of future digital payments and tokenized settlements.
While publishing a notice on its move, the BNR said, “The National Bank of Rwanda (NBR) is considering introducing a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) to modernize the financial sector. Extensive research has led to a detailed feasibility study, forming the basis of our approach.”Meanwhile, the BNR aims to modify the CBDC according to local requirements and conditions.
Moreover, another important goal the BNR is willing to achieve is making Rwanda a cashless economy. It believes the CBDC will help it do so. Besides, it will leverage the CBDC to increase the economy’s resilience and cut costs of maintaining its cash supply.
Regarding the technicalities of the CBDC, the BNR wants to keep it interest-free. It will also make it interoperable with all payment systems in the country and with other CBDCs. The study also suggested that it should be a token-based CBDC with smart contracts and open programmability.
The study also detailed the benefits of both tokenization and programmability. The BNR, in an attempt to improve financial indicators, will look towards CBDC adoption as a solution.
But this is not the first time Africa has dabbled with blockchain technology for its many use cases and benefits. Kenya and South Africa have also seen many such instances in the past.
Check out Millionero’s blog for an overview of the global crypto sector!