Bahamas to Mandate Banks to Support Digital Currency

The Bahamas is set to introduce regulations mandating commercial banks to facilitate access to its central bank digital cy (CBDC), the Sand Dollar. 

The Central Bank Governor John Rolle stated that the development is intended to support the continued use of the digital cy which was launched in 2020 but has not been applied.

Despite pioneering the issuance of a CBDC, the Bahamas has observed that the Sand Dollar constitutes less than 1% of the nation’s cy in circulation. The latest figures indicate a significant decrease in wallet top-ups, from $49.8 million in the previous year to just $12 million in the recent 8 months.

According to reports, the forthcoming regulations will require banks to integrate the Sand Dollar into their operations within two years. Other countries like Nigeria and Jamaica have encountered similar challenges with CBDC adoption. 

The Bahamian approach is different from the strategies in countries like India which provides a cash-back option for the use of digital cy and Israel which came up with the proposal of setting interest rates for holding of CBDCs.