2019-2020 Annual Report and Statement of Accounts

EC Digital Cash (DXCD) Pilot Project Focus Groups in Session

EC Digital Cash Pilot Project

The EC Digital Cash (DXCD) Pilot Project is progressing at pace towards live deployment when real transactions will be conducted among financial institutions, merchants and members of the public. The EC Digital Cash Pilot Project is a component of the Strategic Priorities of the ECCU Payment SystemModernisation Initiative and provides for a safer, cheaper, faster platform for making EC$ payments and transfers. This promotes economic development, supports financial stability and helps expand financial inclusion. The contactless nature of DXCD payments also addresses health concerns amidst the heightened unease over transmission of viruses. The Project will be piloted in four of the ECCB member countries namely: Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Saint Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis and Saint Lucia. The ECCB DXCD payment platform is one of the innovative ways that the Bank is pursuing to improve the manner in which financial services are delivered to and accessed by the ECCU citizenry. The DXCD would serve to reduce the high cost and improve the ease of doing business across the ECCU and, by extension, improve the region’s competitiveness. The DXCD is poised to bridge the geographic barriers that physically divide the ECCU region, this can create new business models and catalyse a new era of financial and economic efficiency. The development process has been characterised by broad-based collaborative engagements, covering wide areas of specialisation including financial institutions, merchants, members of the public and other key stakeholders. Such engagements have provided rich discussions to drive the design of the technology platforms and applications. Milestones to date include: (i) Design and deployment of the DXCD minting network; (ii) Completion of DXCD issuance test; (iii) Alpha Release of all DXCD Apps; (iv) Drafting of guidance documents for financial institutions and merchants; and (v) Engagements with user focus groups in all four pilot countries. The six-month live pilot of the DXCD is scheduled for the second quarter of 2020.

Chair of the ECCB FinTech Working Group, Sharmyn Powell povides more information about the DCXD Pilot Project

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