The Brazilian Central Bank (BCB) is moving ahead with plans to launch a digital currency, following in the footsteps of China’s “e-yuan”.
Roberto Campos Neto, BCB’s president, said that a working group had been discussing the impacts, benefits and costs of the new model since last August.
According to China Lusophone Brief a detailed report, with proposals for the implementation of virtual money by 2022, will be delivered to the BCB Board soon.
The digital currency issued by the monetary authority would be part of the country’s financial base, solidifying the implementation of the instant payment system, Pix, and open banking.
Experts have pointed out that the growing digitalisation of payments and China’s progress on the issue should cause other countries – including Brazil – to accelerate the implementation of their virtual currencies.
“I am sure that [the Chinese digital currency] will give impetus, and with China taking the lead, everyone has been provoked to think about the issue”, commented Eduardo Diniz, a professor at Fundação Getulio Vargas and a prominent technology researcher.
“There is a problem of supply and demand, since it is a project that requires investment. So the discussion is whether it would be accepted by the population,” Diniz added, noting that the high usage of Pix is an indication that a digital currency would be well accepted by Brazilian society.
“The pandemic accelerated this whole digitalisation process and forced people to adapt. It is a process with no return, so this demand does not decrease, it only increases.”
China has taken the lead in the use of digital money, and the government’s issuance of e-currency, called Central Bank Digital Currency, is in the final stages of implementation.
