MEXICO CITY, Mexico—Two countries have announced plans related to digital currencies.
Mexico is preparing to launch its own digital currency in 2024, according to a statement by this country’s deputy governor of the financial institutions.
“We are working on a project, we even have a schedule where we think that maybe by the end of 2024 at the latest, we should have it operating perfectly well,” said Jonathan Heath, CVBJ.biz reported.
The announcement coincides with the statements made by the newly appointed governor of Banxico, Victoria Rodríguez Ceja, in early December. The official then told the Finance and Public Credit Commission of the Mexican Senate that the financial body in the analysis phase of implementation of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), CVBJ.biz said.
Heath also spoke about the coexistence between a digital currency and cash.
In that sense, the official assured bills and coins will not be displaced by the CBDC, since in Mexico a large part of the economy is informal. He also indicated there is low financial inclusion, that is, there are few people with access to traditional banking, CVBJ.biz noted.
Test on in India (And It’s Not Cricket)
Meanwhile, in India, the country’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), said a basic central bank digital currency (CBDC) model must be adopted initially and tested comprehensively to minimize the impact on the country’s monetary policy and banking system.
RBI said it sees several benefits in launching a digital rupee, including “a potential to enhance the efficiency of cross-border payments,” Bitcoin.com reported.
RBI has also released its “Report on Trend and Progress of Banking in India 2020-21.” The 248-page report has a section on central bank digital currency.
‘Safe, Robust’
“In its basic form, a central bank digital currency provides a safe, robust, and convenient alternative to physical cash,” the Indian central bank described, adding that “Depending on various design choices, it can also assume the complex form of a financial instrument.” The RBI continued:
In comparison with existing forms of money, it can offer benefits to users in terms of liquidity, scalability, acceptance, ease of transactions with anonymity and faster settlement, the report stated.