Cambodia is the latest jurisdiction to jump into the CBDC craze after the country’s central bank launched a Blockchain-based platform for digital money transactions known as Bakong.
A source from Dap News released the story which also revealed various partnerships that were made to make it possible.
“Bakong, a payment and money transfer service through banks or microfinance institutions, was established under the initiative of the National Bank of Cambodia,”
The entities that worked with the Central Bank of Cambodia include the country’s financial heavyweight PRASAC. The financial giant has been working with the bank for a year now and their efforts have come to fruition.
New platform to be a major payments solution
The top bank in Cambodia had spoken about the planned release of the platform, at the start of the year. The bank had also revealed that it would be a closed circuit enterprise that would add some value to the payments niche, according to PRASACS Vice President Sony Say. Say went on to describe the solution;
“Bakong is a new and modern payment tool that allows customers to make interbank transactions and bill payments easily, quickly, securely and free of charge. I hope the official launch of the Bakong System today will help promote social welfare and also prevent the spread of [Covid-19] by providing seamless e-payments from person to person,”
A statement was also made by the central bank through director-general Chea Serey as reported by the Phnom Penh post.
“Online payments can also be made through Bakong System, which also offers alternative options for … transactions such as deposits, withdrawals, sending and receiving [via] e-wallet.”
Bakong not a CBDC!
The central bank through it statement also made it clear the Bakong was not a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).
“In response to rising concerns domestically and internationally, Serey stressed that Bakong is not a Central Bank Digital Currency.”
Cambodia is just one of the latest countries to make a move towards a CBDC. Similar discussions have been and are being had in sophisticated economies like China and Japan. The U.S on the other hand is taking it slow, as it seeks to protect its standing as the world’s base currency holder.
Image Courtesy of Pexels
