The Central Bank of The Bahamas (CBOB) expects to have fully rolled out Sand Dollar cross-platform interoperability authorized wallet providers within the first few months of the year.
The rollout will coincide with the bank’s plan to increase public access to the digital currency.
The bank also announced an additional three firms – including a credit union and a commercial bank – that are currently undergoing the cybersecurity assessment process to distribute the Sand Dollar.
“All authorized wallet providers will offer interoperable Sand Dollar services. This means that both enrolled businesses and individuals would be able to send and receive funds with any other digital wallet once the transaction is in Sand Dollars. However, some payment providers have adopted a two-phased approach to product development,” the bank stated in an official update on the Sand Dollar.
“This would make the Sand Dollar available within their own networks before such networks are fully interoperable with third-party wallets. Cross-platform interoperability should also be achieved for such providers during the early months of 2021. Other firms expect that they will be fully interoperable with third-party Sand Dollar wallets upon initial product launch.”
The Sand Dollar pilot program was officially launched in December 2019 on Exuma, before its national rollout in October last year.
There are already authorized financial institutions (AFIs), which have integrated the Sand Dollar into their digital platforms.
“Businesses and individuals who have already selected a digital payments provider can expect that the Sand Dollar will be available within the same environment in which they have enrolled, once their providers complete systems upgrades,” the CBOB stated.
“Early enrollment with a digital wallet provider ensures that the users will have immediate use of Sand Dollars as soon as the feature is enabled by their wallet provider. Sand Dollar-authorized financial institutions are being encouraged to disclose their product development timelines. This will provide customers with awareness as to when this digital currency activation would be completed.”
To help it achieve its public access goals, the CBOB is launching a website specifically for the Sand Dollar today.
“During 2021, the Central Bank will accelerate public education around digital financial services. This campaign includes the launch of the www.SandDollar.bs website on January 4. The campaign will begin to intensify in the first quarter, once interoperable digital currency access is enabled across multiple mobile wallet platforms,” the bank stated.
“In January, the Central Bank will unveil more details on the regulatory environment for the digital currency, including minimum interoperability and financial inclusion standards.”
The aim of the Sand Dollar project is financial inclusion for all residents in The Bahamas by way of access to a central bank digital currency on a modernized technology platform.
The CBOB is the first central bank in the region to successfully launch a digital currency.
The post Sand Dollar cross-platform interoperability in early months of 2021 appeared first on The Nassau Guardian.
source https://thenassauguardian.com/sand-dollar-cross-platform-interoperability-in-early-months-of-2021/
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