According to Odaily Planet Daily, John Rolle, governor of the Central Bank of the Bahamas, revealed that the country is currently formulating relevant regulations to require commercial banks to provide access to the central bank's digital currency 'Sand Dollar' to stimulate its popularity. Faced with the low usage of 'Sand Dollar', incentives have turned to mandatory measures, and relevant regulations will be introduced within two years, requiring all banks to participate.
However, the promotion of CBDC faces challenges. The banking industry is worried about deposit outflows, and banks need to significantly transform their IT systems. Currently, the circulation of 'Sand Dollar' accounts for less than 1%, and the amount of wallet recharges has dropped sharply. Similar problems have also plagued other countries that have promoted CBDC. The public is skeptical about its advantages and worried about increased government surveillance.
Rolle admitted that the key to increasing the use of 'Sand Dollar' is to encourage more merchants, restaurants and other businesses to accept it as a payment method, and forcing commercial banks to embed the 'Sand Dollar' system may help. But he also said that the Bahamas is unlikely to follow India's example and promote CBDC through financial incentives, nor will it offer interest rates to 'Sand Dollar' wallets to attract users as Israel has proposed.
