The National Bank of Ukraine is studying the feasibility of introducing its own retail digital currency (CBDC) - e-hryvnia. A pilot project is currently being prepared. This was announced by the Deputy Chairman of the NBU Oleksiy Shaban.
As Shaban noted, e-hryvnia should be a supplement to cash and funds stored in accounts. It will not be a substitute for them, but only an additional option that can be used at will.
"However, as of today, the decision on the large-scale issuance of e-hryvnia has not yet been made," — said the Deputy Chairman of the NBU.
According to him, a pilot project, preparations for which have already begun, can help in making such a decision. It is planned to be carried out on the basis of DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) technology and in an open environment, that is, with real users and payment service providers. This will make it possible to verify whether the e-hryvnia is capable of performing the functions of money, whether it will satisfy the needs of users, and whether its programmability is effective.
What is e-hryvnia?
Shaban reported that e-hryvnia is the NBU's digital money, an electronic form of the monetary unit of Ukraine, the issuer of which is the National Bank. This definition is contained in the Law of Ukraine "On Payment Services".
"That is, it is the same hryvnia, only in digital form. Like physical (cash) money, it is an obligation of the central bank," — said the Deputy Chairman of the NBU.
If the decision to introduce it is made, the e-hryvnia will be a legal tender in Ukraine and will exist only in a non-cash form - as a supplement to cash and non-cash forms of money. It should perform all the functions of money, available for use by all categories of users without exception.
It is assumed that users will be able to use e-hryvnia to carry out all possible types of payment transactions in Ukraine, in particular:
- transfers between individuals (transfers between user wallets);
- payment for goods and services;
- payments in favor of the state;
- charitable payments;
- receive wages and other income, social benefits.
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