1. Which Type of Digital Currency for Financial Inclusion?
- Author:
- Diego Zuluaga
- Publication Date:
- 06-2021
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Cato Journal
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- When the Libra Association first announced its plan to launch a private digital currency for domestic and cross‐border payments — then consisting of a single token backed by a mix of stable fiat currencies — financial inclusion was a big part of its business case. With 1.7 billion people globally lacking a bank or mobile money account, Libra thought it was imperative for some of the world’s largest companies, including the leading social media platform, to join forces and bring cheap payments to the world’s “unbanked.” And while this project has faced a rocky reception from central bankers and regulators — for reasons good and bad — even they often frame the case for their own, public digital currencies (CBDCs) in terms of bringing cheap and fast electronic payments to the greatest possible number of people, as cash use and cash acceptance decline.
- Topic:
- Finance, Banks, Inclusion, and Digital Currency
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus