The Central Reserve Bank of Peru (CRBP) has published an article which it says will be the first in a series examining the need, design and timing of a Peruvian Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), John Kiff, Research Director at the Sovereign Official Digital Association (SODA), reported. The report focuses on issues relating to a retail CBDC.
The status quo of competing payment systems in Peru is untenable, CBRP writing, but the introduction of a CBDC, combined with new policies to improve access and interoperability of existing systems, would help the bank overcome barriers to financial inclusion and reduce transaction costs. According to the report:
“The objective of a CBDC as part of the payment system in Peru is to give the unbanked population access to digital payments, so it is important to know their characteristics to prepare an implementation strategy.”
Peru has serious obstacles to overcome. About half of the country’s population is unbanked. Three-quarters of the unbanked live in “non-poor” households, but almost 79% of them have no savings. They mainly live in urban areas and almost all work informally. Almost all the unbanked have cell phones.
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Nevertheless, the use of digital payments in Peru has increased fivefold since 2015, according to the report.
In el Peru, han ocurrido tres events que dan luces de hacia donde va el sistema financiero peruano de la mano de blockchain.⛓️
Abro:
1⃣ El Banco Central de Reserva del Perú published the primer document “CBDC: Impulsando los digital pagos en el Perú”
— Blid (, ) | .lens (@blid_one) April 3, 2023
The current report marked the end of the first of five stages in the potential production of a CBDC, according to the report. No timeline for the development of CBDCs was mentioned. CBRP has also released a 25-question survey of potential users, scheduled for April 30.
Peru received technical assistance for the creation of the report from the International Monetary Fund under an agreement reached in May 2021. CBRP Chairman Julio Velarde announced in November 2021 that the country would cooperate with India, Singapore and Hong Kong to develop a CBDC.
SODA is an independent technology company that provides consulting services on central banking, digital finance and the Web3 industry. Kiff is a former IMF section expert.
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