IMF is Developing a CBDCs Platform for Intercountry Transactions

 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is developing a platform for central bank digital currencies (CDBCs) in order to enable transactions between countries, the head of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, said on Monday.

Speaking at a conference in Morocco, Georgieva said, "CBDCs should not be fragmented national propositions... To have more efficient and fairer transactions we need systems that connect countries: we need interoperability"

"For this reason at the IMF, we are working on the concept of a global CBDC platform," she said.

The IMF wants countries to agree on a common regulatory framework for digital currencies to achieve global interoperability. Failing to agree on a common platform would create a vacuum that could easily be filled by cryptocurrencies, she said.

CBDCs are digital currencies controlled by central banks, while cryptocurrencies are decentralized.

Georgieva said already 114 central banks are currently exploring central bank digital currencies, "with about 10 already crossing the finish line."

She added, "If countries develop CDBCs only for domestic deployment we are underutilizing their capacity"

She emphasized that CBDCs should be backed by assets. When backed by assets, a CBDC is an investment opportunity, while the opposite is a "speculative investment."

Georgieva also said central bank digital currencies can help promote financial inclusion and make remittances cheaper.

(Source: Reuters)