COVID-19 EFFECT: Bahamas, US looking at digital fiat for payments

According to reports, Governor of CBOB John Rolle expected these changes to assist with the country’s payment needs arising due to the onset of Coronavirus. He also noted that it had no intention of moving the project forward faster due to the pandemic as it would be “intolerably risky”.

COVID-19 panic was felt even in the digital asset market; despite its fall, the market bounced back and has been recovering faster than the traditional market. This pandemic shed light on the risk paper money has posed in terms of carrying the virus. In the light of such risks, the Central Bank of Bahamas [CBOB] anticipated designing changes to its Sand Dollar digital currency.

The governor noted that they were considering the touchless nature of the digital payments system and its ability to reduce human contact. However, its use will be restricted on pilot projects like Exuma and Abaco for the time being.

The Bahamas was not the only one eyeing digital currency during the global financial crisis. A draft bill has been put forward to the U.S.

Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs and proposed a digital dollar and has been looked upon as the means to stimulate the economy during the COVID-19 outbreak.

China which was set to launch its Digital Currency Electronic Payment [DCEP] is optimistic to launch its digital yuan before the end of the year.