The ECCB has launched DCash digital currency in Dominica. The new online currency is equivalent to the EC dollar and usable on smartphones to complete financial transactions. The blockchain currency was launched in Dominica in collaboration with the National Bank of Dominica (NBD). It was simultaneously launched in Monterrat following earlier launches in four member Eastern Caribbean states.
ECCB Governor, Timothy Antoine, said DCash launched on December 7 and that it was the first Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) to launch within any currency union in the world. He said the development of the new digital payment system was to fulfill three major objectives: enhance payment system efficiency, include underbanked and unbanked populations in banking systems, and boost resilient competion in the ECCU.
The ECCB governor disclosed that DCash is fastest, cheapest, and safest payment system in the ECCU financial market. He said the goal of the ECCB is not to make profits with the launch, but to benefit people and businesses within the economic and currency union. He added that Dominicans with bank accounts in NBD can access DCash with ease, while NBD managing director Annette Severin-Lestrade said the introduction of the digital currency is a transformational imperative.
“The NBD aspires to be in the forefront of digital transformation in the financial services sector in Dominica, and the ECCU,” Severin-Lestrade stated. “We embrace this undertaking to provide a cheaper, more secure, accessible and efficient form of payment for both local and cross-border transactions.”
Severin-Lestrade said the NBD remains committed to enhancing customer experience, boosting financial security, and driving business efficiency across board. She noted that MSMEs are targeted to benefit from DCash, and that it will reduce transaction fees with traditional payment services. She added that local businesses and services will equally experience phenomenal growths with the new payment channel.
People who do not presently have an account with NBD can also access DCash by signing up with Big Edge Financial Express. Big Edge’s managing director, Antonillia Doctrove, said 28 have applied for DCash already and that new applicants must have a smartphone, an email address, and a government ID card to be awarded use of the payment system.
“As long as we are satisfied, the applicant is afforded a value-based wallet with a monthly limit of EC $1,000 or $2,700 with a secondary ID,” Doctrove stated. “We believe it’s a win-win for our citizens, as this strategic initiative is aimed at ensuring a strong, diversified and resilient financial sector.” In March, DCash was launched in Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, and St. Lucia; and it was launched in St. Vincent and the Grenadines in August; while it launched in Dominica and Montserrat in December. It remains to come up in Anguilla where it will launch last in the ECCU.
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