• The e-cedi is expected to be available for offline users
• This forms part of efforts to enhance financial inclusion for digital payments
• The e-cedi was expected to have been piloted in September 2021
The Bank of Ghana has said it will ensure the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), also known as the e-cedi, will be made available for offline users have access.
According to Head of Fintech and Innovation at the central bank, Kwame Oppong, the rollout of the e-cedi will facilitate transactions without the need for connectivity for some users.
Speaking at the ongoing Ghana Economic Forum in Accra, Oppong explained the move is hinged on bringing financial services to people without access to bank accounts.
“What we hope to be able to do – and we’re one of the people pioneering this – is that the e-cedi would also be capable of being used in an offline environment through some smart cards,” Kwame Oppong is quoted by Bloomberg.
Meanwhile, Ghana’s central bank has since 2019 been planning to issue a Central Bank Digital Currency with the announcement of a rollout in 2021.
The innovation which was expected to be piloted in September last month is however yet to commence though at an advanced stage.
CBDCs are digital forms of a jurisdiction’s legal currency and are designed to be available via smartphones.
These smart cards are physical cards embedded with a chip, similar to that of modern bank cards.