The South African Reserve Bank, SARB has released an expression of interest has been issued for the feasibility of the project for the issuance of electronic legal tender. In other words the project will be investigating a central bank digital currency.
The project aims to validate the feasibility of such digital currency as a technological solution, and then to gather information thereafter. The second goal is to extend participation to banks and mobile network operators and payment service providers.
The digital currency will be issued legal tender by the SARB and will have one-to-one parity with the rand. Consumers are to be able to «own and transact» the digital currency «without the need for a band account». Lastly of course, consumers need to be able to exchange the digital currency for cash. The closing date for expression of interest is 6 June 2019.
This article’s facts are gathered from mybroadband’s article which can be found here.
