NAIROBI : Kenya's central bank does not consider the issuance of a digital currency a"compelling priority" but it will continue monitoring developments in the area to help future decisions on issuance, it said on Friday.
The bank invited views from the public on the potential introduction of a central bank digital currency in February last year, in a shift from its original opposition to crypto assets, but it has decided not to issue any. "On the global stage, the allure of CBDCs is fading," the bank said in a statement."Implementation of a CBDC in Kenya may not be a compelling priority in the short to medium term."
Central banks that had rushed to issue the currencies were now facing challenges that are hampering implementation, it said, adding that other problems have also arisen. "Recent instability in the global crypto assets market has amplified concerns and the need for a careful review of theKenya could lean on existing technologies to address any problems in payments, it added.Safaricom's M-Pesa platform, which was launched in 2007 and dominates mobile payments, has developed from a money transfer service to a full-fledged financial services provider of payments, savings, insurance and micro-loans.