Turkey’s Digital Lira CBDC carries out first payment transaction

Turkey’s central bank has reported carrying out the first payment transaction on their Digital Lira network, their CBDC in pilot phase. In the subsequent stages, the network looks forward to the participation of banks and fintech firms for closed-circuit testing.

A press release from the organization said: “Against this backdrop, the CBRT will continue to run tests for authentic architectural setups designed in areas such as the use of distributed ledger technologies in payment systems and the integration of these technologies with instant payment systems.”

As the new year 2023 begins, over 20 countries are in pilot phases or preparing a pilot to launch their digital national currency. These include Australia, South Korea, Thailand, Brazil, India and Russia. For Russia, the sanctions are a greater factor to create a digital version of the Rouble, while other countries want to take the next step into the future with an entirely new digital currency.

In the US, the CBDC initiative is in development stage (Project Cedar), and is being carried out by the New York Federal Reserve. There are 114 countries in various stages of developing their own CBDC.

The three well known countries that have already launched their digital money are The Bahamas, Jamaica and Nigeria, and the list includes eight other minor countries in the Eastern Caribbean, such as Grenada, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, etc.

As per the Atlantic Council website, all CBDC projects need to address several risk factors associated with a CBDC. These include –

  • A bank run, if many decide to convert their traditional money into digital money
  • Hacking and cyber attacks
  • Regulation of privacy, protection and anti-money laundering measures

Sources:

https://www.tcmb.gov.tr/wps/wcm/connect/EN/TCMB+EN/Main+Menu/Announcements/Press+Releases/2022/ANO2022-55

https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/cbdctracker

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