The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is working on a platform for a central bank digital currency (CDBC) to enable transactions between countries, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Monday.
“CBDC should not be a separate national proposal. To have more efficient and fair transactions, we need a system that connects countries," Georgieva said at a conference attended by African central banks in Rabat, Morocco.
"For this reason, at the IMF we are working on the concept of a global CBDC platform," said Georgieva.
The IMF wants central banks to agree on a common regulatory framework for digital currencies that will enable global interoperability. Failure to agree on a common platform will create a vacuum that cryptocurrencies will likely fill, he said.
CBDC is a digital currency controlled by a central bank. Almost 114 central banks are at some stage of CBDC exploration, "with about 10 already close to completion", Georgieva said.
CBDCs can also help promote financial inclusion and make remittances cheaper, he said, noting that the average cost of remittances amounts to 6.3% of $44 billion annually.
