by Kevon Browne
St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN): The Eastern Caribbean Currency Union has stepped into the realm of digital currencies.
During a digital launch streamed via social media on March 31 the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank finally launched the digitized version of the EC dollar, “DCash” and the accompanying mobile app the “DCash Wallet”.
DCash is described by the central bank as a securely minted digital version of the Eastern Caribbean dollar issued by the ECCB. Offering a safer, faster, cheaper way to pay for goods and services and send EC funds to other DCash users all using a smart device.
Although delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, development continued and because of the pandemic, one of the biggest selling points was the fact that DCash facilitated contactless transactions.
The ECCB has been working, in partnership with Bitt Inc for over two years to develop this digital version of the EC currency in an effort to increase financial inclusion, competitiveness, and resilience for the people of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union.
Sharmyn Powell, Chief Risk Officer and Head of Corporate Strategy and Risk Management and Chairperson ECCB Fintech Working Group explained the types of wallets and their current limits:
It was confirmed that persons can switch from a value-based wallet to a registered based wallet and vice versa.
One concern raised during the question and answer segment of the launch was the safety of using the mobile app. Powell shared the lengths taken towards securing security and privacy.
In a round-robin transfer of EC$100.00 in DCash, throughout the four countries, St. Kitts, Grenada St. Lucia and Antigua then back to St. Kitts as a live demonstration of the movement of the digital currency using the app even from one territory to the next.
DCash is live now for those interested in using the contactless digital currency.
