Bahama's flexibility towards local digital currency
The digital Sand Dollar is issued by the Central Bank of The Bahamas and carries the same value and consumer protections as a traditional Bahamian dollar.
Digital currency can be used to facilitate government disbursements, offer additional payment choices and build a more inclusive economy.
Mastercard’s innovative work with CBDCs supports governments around the world as they explore, test, and deploy real-life use cases across existing payment rails. Its virtual testing environment enables the simulation of issuance, distribution, and exchange of CBDCs between banks, financial service providers, and people.
Under a new program from Mastercard and Island Pay, the Bahamas Sand Dollar prepaid card gives people the option to instantly convert the digital currency to traditional Bahamian dollars and pay for goods and services anywhere Mastercard is accepted on the Islands and around the world.
Island Pay’s technology platform, combined with Mastercard technology and wide merchant acceptance, has the potential to help reduce
the operational distribution costs of cash and modernize the overall payments system in The Bahamas.
Central Bank of The Bahamas Governor, John Rolle, said: “We welcome this approach to combining digital currency use with access to foreign currency and other payment outlets. The Central Bank of The Bahamas will continue to encourage fintech developments that tie into the Sand Dollar infrastructure while allowing us to satisfy best global practices for the regulation of the space.”
Richard Douglas, the co-founder of Island Pay, said: “By working closely with the Central Bank of The Bahamas and Mastercard, we can issue a prepaid card unlike any other in the world. We are now able to bring immediate, critical benefits to our customers at a time when they are looking to find new, innovative ways to pay. The Bahamas is leading innovation in CBDCs, and we’re thrilled to be able to play an important role in helping to democratize access to currency, especially in areas that are currently underserved.”
The company recently announced that it plans to support select digital currencies directly on its network, giving choice and flexibility to people and merchants. Each program will be evaluated against the principles Mastercard has established to guide its activities in this space.
Through a dedicated crypto card program, Mastercard helps its digital currency partners accelerate their development efforts, from design and market entry to growth and global expansion. As a result, the jointly-created solutions have the ability to enable a more inclusive economy. If a consumer wants to spend their holdings, Mastercard enables this through our crypto partnerships including Wirex, Uphold, BitPay, and most recently, LVL.b
Raj Dhamodharan, executive vice president of Digital Asset & Blockchain Products & Partnerships at Mastercard, said: “This partnership is an example of how the private and public sector can rethink what’s possible while delivering the strongest levels of consumer protection and regulatory compliance. We’re creating a lot more possibilities for governments, shoppers, and merchants, allowing them to transact in an entirely new form of payment."
Promise
Senior Staff Reporter
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