Bahamas links digital currency to bank accounts

Bahamas digital currency transaction via card and tablet
MISSING LINK: Users will soon be able to load their digital wallet with Sand dollars direct from their bank account and use them to make digital payments

Consumers in the Bahamas will be able to use mobile wallets integrated with the country’s Sand Dollar “like an ATM” and transfer the central bank digital currency to their wallet directly from their bank account, the governor of the Central Bank of The Bahamas, John Rolle, has said.

Linking the mobile wallet platforms of banks and other financial institutions authorised to distribute the Sand Dollar with commercial banking systems would be the focus of the next phase of infrastructure development prior to a “push for national adoption” in the summer, Rolle told a press briefing reported by The Nassau Guardian.

“A very important part of the completion of the ecosystem has been the work to integrate the communication link between mobile wallets and bank accounts,” Rolle said.

“The reason for that is the convenience factor of having individuals see a mobile wallet like an ATM machine, in the sense that drawing funds and having it directly available in digital form, the connectivity that we are doing with the banking system through the automated clearing house (ACH), that is work that is literally concluding now and that provides the other important part to the infrastructure that will give us the momentum to push for national adoption.”

To date, the Central Bank of The Bahamas has authorised nine banks and other financial institutions to integrate mobile wallets with the Sand Dollar and exchange funds using the digital currency.

The bank launched the Sand Dollar digital currency in October 2020.

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