The Governor of the Central Bank of the Bahamas orders commercial banks to support the national CBDC: low adoption so far.
According to Reuters, the government of the Bahamas is preparing new legislation that mandates commercial banks to support the national CBDC, known as the Sand Dollar, introduced in 2020.
John Rolle, Governor of the Central Bank of the Bahamas, stated that such a measure is necessary due to the low adoption observed so far. Rolle indicated that the new rules should come into effect within the next two years, stating:
“We foresee a process where all of the commercial banks will eventually be in that space and they will be required to provide their clients with access to the central bank digital currency.”
Adoption of the Sand Dollar
Despite the Sand Dollar being launched in 2020, it represents less than 1% of the currency in circulation in the Bahamas. The total volume of Sand Dollar wallet top-ups fell to $12 million between January and August last year, down from $49.8 million in the same period in 2022.
According to Rolle, requiring commercial banks to integrate the Sand Dollar into their systems could help increase its usage, but he also acknowledged that the best way to do so would be to encourage shops, restaurants, and other businesses to accept it as a form of payment.
Comparison with other countries
The Bahamas is not the only country facing low adoption rates for CBDCs. In Nigeria, the first African country to launch a CBDC, similar difficulties have been observed. Despite numerous efforts to increase adoption, less than 1% of Nigerians with bank accounts own eNaira wallets, and of these, less than 1.5% are active on a weekly basis.
