Key Takeaways
- UAE announces three-year strategy for deploying national digital currency
- The financial strategy includes focusing on developing cloud-based infrastructure for its financial system
- CBDCs increasingly popular across Asia
The Apex bank revealed this development as part of its three-year plan for 2023-2026. According to the CBUAE the financial proposal cuts across seven major objectives to achieve as part of a transformation plan.
This innovative plan is expected to be focused mainly on artificial intelligence and big data technology. In addition, part of the report indicates that the UAE intends to build a framework that would ensure proper inspection, monitoring, and better insurance system facilitated by the latest technology.
The country also intends to expand the use of its national identity system, the UAE Pass to track citizens and increase financial inclusion within its borders. In addition, the development of a digital currency is also one of the major proponents of the three-year plan. The digital currency will be trialed within the financial system and regulated to ensure that it passes existing legal and financial laws.
With this development, UAE becomes the first country in the Middle East to place a timeframe for the deployment of its digital currency. CBDCs have continued to attract media attention as governments globally respond to the growing threat of crypto-assets like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
El Salvador became the first country to make Bitcoin a legal tender, and many countries have decided to go the other way by developing their national currencies. However, southEast Asian nation Vietnam recently revealed that it was working on deploying a digital currency in the future.
South Korea and Japan are also examples of other countries currently trialing their digital currencies within the Asian region.
What are your thoughts on the UAE's decision to develop a digital currency?
