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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has issued a warning about the potential risks associated with Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) if they are not carefully designed and regulated. While acknowledging the promise of CBDCs in creating more efficient payment systems and promoting financial inclusion, the IMF emphasized the importance of proper governance to avoid potential threats.
The cautionary note comes from research conducted by three key IMF researchers, namely Tobias Adrian, Dong He, and Tommaso Mancini-Griffoli. They indicated that the benefits of CBDCs are likely to materialize over time, depending on the policies pursued by countries, responses from the private sector, and technological advancements.
The researchers recommended that countries continue to explore CBDCs in a careful and systematic manner. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva had previously highlighted the significance of such exploration in her speech at the Singapore Fintech Festival.
In Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), acknowledged the continuous development of new financial technologies and their potential to revolutionize the financial sector. While recognizing the associated threats, he emphasized that technology is generally a force for good and a critical factor in national development.
Dr. Addison highlighted the BoG’s efforts to create an enabling environment for the digital delivery of financial services. Currently, the financial sector in Ghana boasts various digital financial services, including payments, credit, savings, and investment products offered by both traditional banks and FinTech companies. These digital advancements have led to increased financial inclusion in the country, with access rising from 41% in 2014 to 68% in 2021, according to the Global Findex Report by the World Bank.
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