According to reports in Rwanda, the Deputy Governor at Rwanda’s apex bank, the National Bank of Rwanda (Central Bank of Rwanda) will reveal its stand on a Rwandan CBDC by December 2022.
According to the Deputy Governor, National Bank of Rwanda, Soraya Hakuziyaremye, the bank is conducting research which will be concluded by end of December 2022 from which a clear policy on whether it will issue a CBDC or not will emerge.
“We are now at an investigation phase. We are analysing what could be the benefits to Rwandans to have a CBDC but also the risk not only to our economy but the sector depending on the form of digital currency we would issue.”
– Deputy Governor, National Bank of Rwanda
In June 2021, the central bank announced the commencement of a study that would look at the economic, financial, and technology aspects related to CBDC as well as the operationalisation model, taking into account the local context.
In recent weeks, East African neighbours, Kenya and Uganda, have advanced their CBDC plans with Kenya publishing a discussion paper in February 2022.
A senior official at the Central Bank of Uganda said that the bank was exploring the CBDC which indicates that Uganda and Rwanda banks are at a similar stage. Furthermore, both countries are keen on tailoring any eventual CBDC to the local conditions.
In a similar sentiment to Bank of Uganda officials, DG Hakuziyaremye indicated that a CBDC shouldn’t be excluding the population, ‘it has to go with closing the digital divide and making sure that people have the option to use it.’
On the trade in cryptocurrencies, much as it is not illegal in Rwanda, Hakuziyaremyi advised people to exercise caution while engaging in this trade bearing in mind risks that come with it.
