The Bahamas became the world’s first country to launch a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in 2020. The Sand Dollar as it is known is the digital version of the Bahamian dollar (B$).

The Bahamian government introduced the CBDC to allow for greater flexibility and accessibility of people who want to participate in financial services through a mobile phone application or a card payment.

The New Times’ Business Editor Julius Bizimungu spoke exclusively to the Central Bank of the Bahamas Governor, Derek Sean Rolle, on the sidelines of the just-concluded African Export Import Bank (Afreximbank) Annual Meetings in Nassau, the Bahamas.