The First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Dr. Maxwell Opoku-Afari, has revealed that the central bank has made some significant progress towards the introduction of the digital version of the cedi, known as the eCedi.
“The introduction will be linked to the completion of necessary commercials. It will be done as the economic environment is right and stabilizing. The pilot was a success”, he said.
Dr. Opoku-Afari made the assertion in an interview with Joy Business on the sidelines of the 3i Africa Summit at the Accra International Conference Center.
He stated that the time is getting right to pursue the project as the economy recovers from challenges in recent times.
“I think we are moving into a space where we are beginning to consider the proper roll out of the digital currency. However, other, indicators are currently being monitored before that decision is taken”, he added.
He clarified that no specific time has been set to introduce the eCedi but will be implemented as the economic environment gets better.
Background
The Bank of Ghana initially worked to introduce the eCedi in 2022; however, challenges with the economy forced the regulator to freeze its roll out.
The eCedi will be a publicly-available digital form of fiat currency which is issued by a state with legal tender status.
This is a value based approach that implies an eCedi that represents a token, or a digital value note.
Payment is done by transferring the value note from one person to another. The concept is similar to cash payment transactions, where payment is done by transferring banknotes and/ or coins from person A to person B.
BoG has developed a view of the eCedi to meet the following strategic goals:
• Increase digitization of the Ghanaian economy;
• Foster financial inclusion and consumer adoption of digital payments;
• Anticipate the future role of BoG as an active regulator and facilitator of a digital economy;
• Foster the possibility of a more secure, efficient, and resilient payment system;
• Address the risk of unregulated privately issued digital “currencies” or virtual assets
Pilot poll out of eCedi
Dr. Afari-described the roll out of the pilot as a success.
He revealed that everything at the 3i Africa Summit, (The Innovation Village) was sold through the eCedi,.
“You cannot use any physical cash at that place. At this summit, we decided to demonstrate how it works, by loading it on phones. All these things are part measures to test the digital currency, before the full roll out”, he explained.
“Now that the Pilot has been completed, the Bank of Ghana is getting ready to consider commercials around the eCedi”, he added.
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