IMF Director Kristalina Georgieva indicated on Monday that the fund is working on establishing a platform for central bank digital currencies to facilitate transactions between countries. Georgieva stated at a conference attended by African central banks in Rabat, Morocco, "Central bank digital currencies should not be separate national proposals. To enjoy more efficient and fair transactions, we need systems that connect countries." She added, "This is why we at the IMF are working on a vision for a global platform for central bank digital currencies."
The IMF wants central banks to agree on a common regulatory framework for digital currencies that are interchangeable worldwide. She emphasized that a lack of agreement on a shared platform could create a vacuum likely to be filled by cryptocurrencies. Georgieva noted that 114 central banks are exploring digital currencies at some stage, with ten of them having completed the task already. She asserted, "If countries develop central bank digital currencies for local use only, we are not leveraging their full potential."
Georgieva viewed that central bank digital currencies could help promote financial inclusion and reduce the cost of remittances, stating that "the cost of transferring money reached about 44 billion dollars annually." The central bank digital currency is subject to the central bank, while cryptocurrencies are hardly overseen by central banks.
