Digital Currency Coming For Barbados, Rest Of Region

• Barbados will be one of the first two Caribbean countries in which a common Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is to be rolled out. The CaribCoin project, as it is being referred to, is a joint venture between Schröder, the Chief System Architect, and the Caribbean-based technology accelerator Abed Ventures. 
• Caribcoin would first be rolled out in Barbados and Jamaica and then other Caribbean countries. However, renowned regional financial and economic expert Marla Dukharan suggested that each country in the region could do well with their own digital currency while adding that there was especially a need for a cross-border settlement system. 
• Pointing to some of the benefits of a digital currency, Schöder said it allowed for faster transactions and was more accessible, safe, sustainable and stable. It also presents an opportunity to create a pan-Caribbean digital money, that can be used across the region. 
• A common CBDC would also deliver seamless, faster and cheap payments, provide liquidity and enable a fast-track towards a CARICOM Single Market & Economy (CSME) without a need to replace national currencies but simultaneously enhance financial inclusion in the region.

(Source: Barbados Today)