Central bank’s digital money: motiva-tions and experiences of current issuers

Abstract

Central bank digital currency (CBDC) is an electronic form of money issued by central banks, with the potential to create a new electronic payment system. This article explores the motivations for developing CBDCs and examines the experiences of countries that have successfully launched such currencies: the Bahamas, Nigeria and Jamaica. It also focuses on the gold-backed digital token issued in Zimbabwe. The aim of the study is to present the objectives that motivated these early adopters and their experiences to date. It gives insight into the potential benefits that can be achieved through the adoption of CBDC by other banks. The main motivations of the current issuers were: to increase financial inclusion, boost the efficiency and security of the national payment system and reduce the cost of cash circulation. So far, the impact of the described projects is moderate due to the short issuance period and the lack of offline payments.