The International Monetary Fund has announced plans to create a global platform for using Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs). Speaking at a conference in Morroco, the Managing Director of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva explained that establishing a standardized CBDC system would give people access to more efficient financial services at lower costs.
There are several advantages to the CBDC, and one main advantage is that payments are secure and reliable and eliminate intermediaries, making payments fast. By eliminating intermediaries, the CBDC, beyond its reliability, fosters cross-border payments faster than local currencies. The CBDC also serves as an alternative to cash, promoting financial inclusion for the unbanked global population. Over 114 countries have begun experimenting with the economic potentials of the CBDC, 18 of which have made significant progress, some of which include Nigeria, Jamaica, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Japan, and Jordan.
As countries worldwide look to adopt the CBDC, the IMF considers it important to establish a global CBDC platform that will regulate global operations, ensure data privacy and financial integrity, and tackle cyber attacks and legal challenges that may arise. The Future of digital payments is shaping up as the IMF looks to work with countries around the world is build an efficient framework that would ultimately improve the lives of people around the world
