A Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is a digital form of a sovereign currency that iscreated and issued by a Central Bank. It serves as legal tender and a medium ofexchange that is a direct claim on the issuing central bank.

CBDCs enable users to conduct instant transactions with immediate settlement while incurring minimal costs

Retail CBDC’s are designed and intended for use by individuals and businesses for transactions in a similar manner to cash .Wholesale CBDC’s are designed for use by Financial Institutions to conduct interbank settlement transactions

Blockchain is a type of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) that records transactions in a secure, transparent, and immutable manner across a decentralized network. The technology is used as the underlying framework for most digital currencies including Central Bank Digital Currencies

CBDCs are digital forms of sovereign currency that are minted, issued and regulated by a central bank and therefore hold the same value as the corresponding physical sovereign currency. In contrast Cryptocurrencies are decentralized digital currencies that are created by non-governmental agents, their values are volatile and dependent on the supply/demand on markets

DCash is the official CBDC of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, it serves as a digital representation of the Eastern Caribbean Dollar for use within the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union

No, DCash is intended to complement, not replace, cash or traditional bank card payments. It offers an additional, digital payment option in an attempt to reduce the use of physical cash without completely replacing it

No, following the closure of the DCash Pilot on January 12, 2024 the DCash platform has stopped all operations and use of DCash until the launch of DCash 2.0

Users of DCash during the pilot are able to cash out via our partner agents or Financial Institutions with which their wallets are linked. If you are unable to cash out via these methods, please contact the DCash team for further support

The purpose of the DCash pilot was to explore the suitability of a digital EC currency for the benefit of the ECCU. Given this, the DCash Pilot was successful as it provided the ECCB with valuable insights and lessons learned that can inform the preparation and development of a potential commercial implementation of DCash.

Yes, the ECCB has previously and continues to engage with stakeholders including the general public to guide the design and development of a CBDC, ensuring that a commercial product is fit for purpose. Members of the general public are invited to complete the DCash Public Survey to share their views

DCash will be available for use at participating merchants, government agencies, e-commerce websites and peer-to-peer transactions across the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union upon launch

Under our current DCash 2.0 roadmap, we estimate that a new DCash solution would be in place for commercial deployment within the next 18-24 months