Private Banks Offer Assistance in Designing Digital Currency in Mexico
Mexico’s private banks are interested in working with the central bank in the country in order to create a new digital currency. The governor of the Bank of Mexico had a meeting with the president of the Mexican Bank Association (ABM), where the latter offered the assistance of the private banks in the group to create a national digital currency that could be used in the country in the future. According to the members of the Mexican Bank Association, they want to assist the central bank in Mexico in designing and issuing a possible central bank digital currency (CBDC).
Daniel Becker, who is the association’s president, recently met with Victoria Rodriguez Ceja, the governor of the Bank of Mexico, in order to review some important factors that would improve the accessibility of banks for Mexican citizens. Becker said about the meeting that if the central bank believes that banking opinion can assist them in developing a better cryptocurrency, then they can depend on them for the best banking opinion. He said that a more robust and efficient financial system can be created and it would be able to reach more Mexicans. Becker also added that introducing a digital currency can help in lowering the cost of transactions and can help use blockchain to ensure better interoperability.
A number of reports have shown that the banking penetration in the community in Mexico is significantly less than in other countries. Therefore, many people are of the opinion that introducing cryptocurrencies in the country can help in improving financial inclusion. However, it is important to note that no direct statement has come from the Bank of Mexico about the potential introduction of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). But, the presidency of Mexico’s official account did announce back in January that they would create a digital version of the peso.
The institution had stated at that time that the bank was planning on issuing its own currency and the target date of 2024 had also been mentioned for this development to be prepared. This has prompted private banks to reach out to the Central Bank of Mexico in order to be part of the planning phase of the potential digital currency of the country. This would add Mexico to the list of countries that are currently planning to develop and launch their own digital currencies.
Some of the countries that are part of the list include the Bahamas and China. As a matter of fact, the European Union has also been studying to develop their own digital euro. According to the latest reports, the European Commission (EC) is planning to introduce consultations for their central bank digital currency (CBDC) in March. So far, China has made a great deal of progress where a CBDC is concerned and they have gone as far as conducting tests in the country. Many countries like India have indicated that they are in favor of introducing CBDCs and they should be used instead of private cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin that are unregulated.
