On Thursday, Victoria Rodriguez, Governor of the Mexican Central Bank (Banxico), announced that her institution would issue a digital currency in 2025.
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This “central bank digital currency” (CBDC) will seek to generate means of payment aimed at financial inclusion; expand options for fast, secure, efficient and interoperable payments; and implement competitive features to payment methods.
“We estimate that the final operation process will take about three years and will reach banked and unbanked people, expanding payment options,” she told the Senate Finance Committee.
The CBDC of Mexico will adhere to three basic characteristics: a means of payment, a unit of account and a store of value. It will co-exist with physical banknotes and coins.
#CBDC could pave the way for full interoperability of global digital currencies.
In 2021, 87 countries have started exploring a CBDC solution. Find out which countries are partnering with Ripple to develop a national digital currency using the #XRPLedger: https://t.co/rl7R8ClvgR
— Ripple (@Ripple)
March 26, 2022
The social benefits arising from the Mexican CBDC could be significant. According to a study published by Merchant Machine in March, this Latin American country is among the five least financially inclusive countries, after Morocco, Vietnam, Egypt and the Philippines.
“The Banking Association of Mexico recognizes that 53% of adults in the country do not have a bank account, and 7 out of 10 do not have access to credit,” recalled Bitcoin News.
So far, central bank digital currencies have been implemented by the Bahamas (Sand Dollar), China (Digital Renminbi), Sweden (E-Krona), Marshall Islands (Sovereign) and the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (DXCD), whose CBDC prototype operates in Antigua, Barbuda, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, according to outlet Hedera.