The Central Bank of the Bahamas officially launches its 'sand dollar' digital currency

The Central Bank of the Bahamas (CBOB) has launched its new digital fiat currency sand dollar, the bank announced Tuesday.

The sand dollar is meant to be a digital version of the Bahamian dollar as part of the bank's ongoing efforts to implement digital payments system infrastructure into its current operations. 

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According to the bank's website, the sand dollar will be used to improve access to regulated payments and financial services for "under-serviced communities and socio-economic groups," as well as to cut down service delivery costs and increase the efficiency of transactions throughout the country. 

Last week, the bank announced that the sand dollar will not just be limited to local transactions. 

“At the moment, it is currently only used in a domestic setting, but eventually we are working on a solution that will make it interoperable with other global currencies,” CBOB assistant manager of electronic solutions Bobby Chen told the Nassau Guardian. 

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Saniya More (pronounced: Saan-ya Mo-ray) is a quadrilingual journalist at The Block. She got her master’s degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and did her undergraduate degree at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University. Her work has appeared in CBS News, Bangkok Post, Thai Enquirer, Globalists, Byline Times and other publications. When she’s not chasing a story, you will most likely find her biking, tweeting, taking photos or creating Spotify playlists for every occasion.