The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has reportedly taken important strides towards rolling out a central bank digital currency (CBDC) experiment.

Specifically, Ernest Addison, governor of the country’s central bank, reportedly disclosed via a news conference in Ghana’s capital Accra, that the BoG has moved on to advanced phases in the process of designing a CBDC. 

As included in his statement, Addison reportedly revealed that the planned e-cedi will undergo developmental and evaluation stages, prior to official approval for a nationwide release. 

Per the BoG governor, the last phase will reportedly come with pilot research, to deal with the problems in terms of feasibility prior to putting the CBDC in national circulation.

Outlining the development available for revealing, Addison reportedly shared that the design stage is not far away from finalization, with the implementation team ready for the next stage.

The pilot study will reportedly come with a limited release of the planned e-cedi dedicated to mobile payments. The pilot will help the BoG know if the feasibility requirements will be met and whether adjustments are needed for effective functioning. 

Addison reportedly remarked that Ghana is having plans to be on the forefront regarding the CBDC development across the continent. 

“The Bank of Ghana was one of the first African Central Banks to declare that we were working on a digital currency looking at the concept of an e-cedi.”

Previously 2 years ago, the BoG has reportedly been investing resources in deep-diving into the potential of designing a CBDC. In June last year, the central bank provided confirmation that the preparation of an experimental e-cedi initiative was sufficient.