Central Bank Digital Currencies, or CBDCs, are picking up pace in several countries around the world, and Iran is one of them. In the coming days, the country will gradually introduce its virtual currency ‘digital rial’ in a public pilot phase. The Central Bank of Iran (CBI) is leading a trial phase for the digital rial. As part of this phase, digital currency will be issued to bank customers as well as tourists visiting Kish Island to facilitate digital payments.
The pilot digital rial will be implemented on June 21, according to an official CBI statement. For now, the trial will be limited to the Island of Kiš.
“By scanning the barcode generated by the provided software, shop with new methods or transfer money to other customers’ wallets,” the statement (translated from Persian) reads.
CBDCs like the digital rial are blockchain-backed digital representations of fiat currencies that allow users to process online payments quickly. The use of CBDCs can result in a reduction of central banks’ dependence on banknotes, while also recording a permanent trail of transaction history on the blockchain network.
According to the CBI, the digital rial will not require interbank settlements to facilitate the transfer of funds between buyers and sellers. Instead, the funds will be immediately available to the seller as soon as the purchase operation is completed.
“According to the measures taken, the digital rial facilitates the necessary capacities for the development of programmable or programmable money, which will be the driving engine for the formation of new business models, especially in the space of e-commerce and the digital economy of the world. country,” the CBI said in a statement.
Currently, India is among the nations that are at an advanced stage of testing their CBDCs. In India, eRupee CBDC is distributed in the retail ecosystem. More banks are allowing a small group of users to convert some of their money into CBDC and try it out for payments via QR codes linked to the accounts of the recipients of the funds.
China, Japan, UK and Russia are conducting pilot trials of their CBDCs. Recently, Ethiopia decided to explore digital currency technology. In fact, as early as 2022, Nigeria launched its eNaira CBDC into mainstream adoption.
