Today Mastercard and Island Pay announced the launch of a Bahamian prepaid card that supports the local central bank digital currency (CBDC), the Sand Dollar. Cardholders can convert their Sand Dollars to conventional Bahamian dollars and use the card to pay for goods in the Bahamas or anywhere in the world where Mastercard is accepted.
While many announcements claim firsts, this is probably the first card to support a fully-fledged CBDC. The Sand Dollar was launched in October 2020.
Every country has different motivations. While there were multiple drivers, one of the biggest was the sheer cost of distributing cash amongst Bahama’s 700 islands and the shuttering of banks and ATMs in recent years.
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