|
The
East African country pioneered mobile money payments with
Safaricom's M-Pesa in 2007, but its central bank has not issued
a digital currency due to concerns about the risks.
The risks included commercial banks being constrained by
movement of deposits into the digital currency and financial
exclusion of those without access to technological
infrastructure or knowledge, the bank said on Thursday.
A digital currency could curb the effectiveness of monetary
policy and increase risks of money laundering, the bank said.
But the bank also said a digital currency could offer some
benefits especially in reducing cross-border payments costs.
"The balance of risks and benefits of central bank digital
currency will vary from one economy to another," the bank said
in a statement.
For the digital currency to work, the bank said, all countries
in the region needed to participate in order to flatten "the
multi-layered correspondent banking structure" and shorten the
payment chains.
Tanzanian government officials said last year
https://www.reuters.com/technology/
tanzania-cbank-says-it-is-working-presidents-cryptocurrency-push-2021-06-25
they were working on a directive from the president to prepare
for the introduction of digital currencies.
The central bank and other public bodies in Kenya are required
to seek views from the public before taking major decisions.
(Reporting by George Obulutsa and Duncan Miriri. Editing by Jane
Merriman)
[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
.png)
