According to the reports, Georgia’s Central Bank plans to launch its national digital currency in the first half of 2023. They will also publish some documents detailing the concept of the currency soon. Other participating parties will use it to finalise their proposal for the pilot.
Georgia government officials are speeding up digital currency trials
The National Bank of Georgia, also known as NBG, will release a digital lari whitepaper, which will help their potential partners fine-tune their proposals for the test phase of the project. According to reports, a pilot version of the digital currency was expected initially in 2022, but the NBG postponed the trials for this year.
Deputy Governor Papuna Lezhava said in an interview with the Rustavi 2 TV Channel that in the first half of this year, they would publish the documents and soon after that, together with the winning partner, they will discuss how much time it would take to implement the project.
He added that several alternative approaches have already been approved to test the digital incarnation of the Georgian lari. Now, the thing which remains is to decide whether to continue with the realisation of the project. The government official also mentioned that it would be a somewhat limited pilot version at the first stage. On this basis, the technical characteristics of digital currency will be evaluated.
Georgia’s monetary policy regulator officer commented in a prior statement that the mandate of the NBG is to ensure financial and price stability. Digital technology development has also made developing the central bank currency and creating a digital version of the lari necessary.
CBDC will benefit the digital economy
Georgia Central Bank plans to launch its national digital currency in the first half of 2023. The bank elaborated that this digital currency also stems from the need to meet the digital economy’s better requirements and increase the economic policies’ effectiveness. It also emphasised that the state-back coin will have a legal tender in Georgia which can be helpful.
While pointing out that the new platform can also work the internet, NBG mentioned that the digital lari would become a cheaper, faster and more secure way to carry out transactions compared to the current fiat lari in its cash and non-cash forms. However, the services of intermediaries, commercial or payment systems, will be optional to carry out operations using the digital online.
What are your thoughts as Georgia’s Central Bank plans to launch its national digital currency? Do you think it will be able to meet the requirements of the digital economy better and increase the effectiveness of economic policy in Georgia? Let us know in the comments below. And, if you found our content informative, share it with your family and friends.
Also Read: Central Bank of Thailand to allow virtual banks by 2025.
