Bank Of Ghana To Begin CBDC Trial With German Currency Printing Firm

The Bank of Ghana recently declared that it signed an agreement with German banknote and securities printing firm G+D to initiate the trial of retail CBDC in Ghana, a country situated in West Africa.

According to the aforementioned agreement, the printing firm will provide its proprietary central bank digital currency solution dubbed Filia to pilot the issuance of a digital form of the nation’s national currency, the cedi. The CBDC will be analyzed in a trial with local banks, merchants, payment service providers and consumers, as well as other associated parties.

Notably, the aforementioned project is part of Ghana’s digitization strategy, the “Digital Ghana Agenda.” It is primarily aimed at digitizing data and government services for the nation of thirty million residents.

Ernest Addison, the governor of Bank of Ghana mentioned that the e-cedi provides a substantial opportunity to develop a

“robust, inclusive, competitive and sustainable financial sector, led by the central bank.”

He further mentioned,

“From all indications, the concept has a significant role to play in the future of financial service delivery globally. This project is a significant step towards positioning Ghana to take full advantage of this emerging concept.”

In addition to working on the technology behind central bank digital currency, the securities printing firm has been also actively investing in the blockchain and digital asset industry, last year leading a seventeen million dollars Series A funding round for Metaco, a Swiss startup offering custody services for virtual assets and stablecoins.