{"id":159555,"date":"2021-07-14T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-14T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ict-pulse.com\/?p=159555"},"modified":"2021-07-14T06:00:54","modified_gmt":"2021-07-14T11:00:54","slug":"ictp-163-piloting-the-very-first-regional-digital-currency-in-the-world-with-sharmyn-powell-of-the-eccb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2021\/07\/ictp-163-piloting-the-very-first-regional-digital-currency-in-the-world-with-sharmyn-powell-of-the-eccb\/","title":{"rendered":"ICTP 163:  Piloting the very first regional digital currency in the world, with Sharmyn Powell of the ECCB"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) is in the process of piloting DCash, the Central Bank Digital Currency for the countries of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). Sharmyn Powell Chief Risk Officer of the ECCB discusses DCash, along with the plans the Bank has for the currency in the future, and key trends that have been emerging in the OECS fintech space.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" allow=\"autoplay\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/1087180285&amp;color=%23ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;show_teaser=true\"><\/iframe><div style=\"font-size: 10px; color: #cccccc;line-break: anywhere;word-break: normal;overflow: hidden;white-space: nowrap;text-overflow: ellipsis; font-family: Interstate,Lucida Grande,Lucida Sans Unicode,Lucida Sans,Garuda,Verdana,Tahoma,sans-serif;font-weight: 100;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/user-673719274\" title=\"ICT Pulse Podcast\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;\" rel=\"noopener\">ICT Pulse Podcast<\/a> \u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/user-673719274\/ictp-163-piloting-the-very\" title=\"ICTP 163: Piloting the very first regional digital currency in the world, with Sharmyn Powell of the ECCB\" target=\"_blank\" style=\"color: #cccccc; text-decoration: none;\" rel=\"noopener\">ICTP 163: Piloting the very first regional digital currency in the world, with Sharmyn Powell of the ECCB<\/a><\/div><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>This episode is also available in&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/ict-pulse-podcast\/id1373550291\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Apple iTunes<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/playmusic.app.goo.gl\/?ibi=com.google.PlayMusic&amp;isi=691797987&amp;ius=googleplaymusic&amp;apn=com.google.android.music&amp;link=https:\/\/play.google.com\/music\/m\/Icau5acn2xiyl5yjuh7orl2mt54?t%3DICT_Pulse_Podcast%26pcampaignid%3DMKT-na-all-co-pr-mu-pod-16\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Google Play Music<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/3d0U4ZYX80e5lenYLdzyX4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Spotify<\/a> and on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stitcher.com\/podcast\/ict-pulse-podcast?refid=stpr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Stitcher<\/a>!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the Caribbean region moves towards embracing financial technology (fintech), the creation and use of digital currencies is one segment that has been gaining traction. So far, digital currencies have been developed by the Bahamas, the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), and Jamaica. These currencies have developed by central banks to be the digital equivalent of the local fiat currency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On the 31March 2021, the <a href=\"https:\/\/eccb-centralbank.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB)<\/a> began the public pilot of its digital currency, DCash, starting in Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Lucia. Although the OECS comprises 11 member states: Anguilla; Antigua and Barbuda; British Virgin Islands; Dominica; Grenada; Guadeloupe; Martinique; Montserrat; Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia; and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, only eight countries are members of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) and so use the Eastern Caribbean Dollar. The non-members are the British Virgin Islands, which uses the United States Dollar, and Guadeloupe and Martinique, which use the Euro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>DCash is the second Central Bank Digital Currency to be launched in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) region, <a href=\"https:\/\/fgd.dfv.mybluehost.me\/.website_c81a1e61\/2020\/09\/ictp-121-launching-a-digital-currency-in-the-caribbean-with-the-central-bank-of-the-bahamas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the first being the Sand Dollar, in the Bahamas<\/a>. However, DCash is still an exciting development in the OECS region, as it is the first regional digital currency in the world, and so from the outset, supports cross-border trade between the participating countries. It also has the potential to open a broad range of opportunities including, facilitating the digital and financial inclusion of the unbanked and underbanked, along with realising more &nbsp;efficient and cost-effective processing of electronic payments and transactions. To that end, and according to an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eccb-centralbank.org\/news\/view\/eccb-governor-announces-dcash-public-launch\">ECCB press release<\/a>, DCash is \u201c<em>an innovative, real-time payment option available within the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) and offers a safer, faster, cheaper method for making payments and sending\/receiving funds to and from other DCash users and merchants<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Introducing our guest<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"159558\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2021\/07\/ictp-163-piloting-the-very-first-regional-digital-currency-in-the-world-with-sharmyn-powell-of-the-eccb\/sharmyn-powell\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Sharmyn-Powell.jpg?fit=2058%2C2060&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"2058,2060\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Sharmyn Powell\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Sharmyn Powell&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Sharmyn-Powell.jpg?fit=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Sharmyn-Powell.jpg?fit=1024%2C1024&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fgd.dfv.mybluehost.me\/.website_c81a1e61\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Sharmyn-Powell-1024x1024.jpg?resize=360%2C360&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-159558\" width=\"360\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Sharmyn-Powell.jpg?resize=1024%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Sharmyn-Powell.jpg?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Sharmyn-Powell.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Sharmyn-Powell.jpg?resize=768%2C769&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Sharmyn-Powell.jpg?resize=1536%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Sharmyn-Powell.jpg?resize=2046%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 2046w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Sharmyn-Powell.jpg?resize=1080%2C1081&amp;ssl=1 1080w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Sharmyn-Powell.jpg?resize=440%2C440&amp;ssl=1 440w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 360px) 100vw, 360px\" \/><figcaption>Sharmyn Powell<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/sharmyn-powell-447544142\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sharmyn Powell<\/a><\/strong> has been with the ECCB for 25 years and currently holds the position of Chief Risk Officer. She also leads the Office of Corporate Strategy and Risk Management with responsibility for Enterprise Risk Management, Compliance, Strategic Plan development and monitoring and Business Continuity Management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Prior to assuming this role, Sharmyn served in various capacities at the Bank including, Deputy Director, Accounting Department, Director, Currency Management Department and Director, Support Services Management Department. Currently, she is the Chairperson of the Bank\u2019s Fintech Working Group, which is leading the implementation of the DCash Pilot Project for the issuance of a block-chain based digital version of the Eastern Caribbea Currency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sharmyn is a Certified Accountant (ACCA), and also carries the designations of Chartered Director (C. Dir) and Audit Committee Certified (A.C.C).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Insights into our conversation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>With all the talk of innovation and competitiveness across the Caribbean region, the area of digital payments and transactions has lagged behind, and so has hampered the innovation of citizens and the competitiveness of countries. It is for this reason why the launch of digital currencies in the region is welcomed, as it can change the trajectory of countries, and cause them to move more concertedly to becoming digital economies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The OECS region is no different, as the ECCB recognised the inefficiencies and expense associated with managing fiat money. More importantly, and to emphasise the commitment to digital, the ECCB has set the aggressive target of half of the region\u2019s citizens will be using DCash by 2025. Realisation of this goal will demand a paradigm shift by both the public and private sectors, which to some degree, has begun, thanks to the pandemic. However, and at the same time, the pandemic has slowed down the ECCB\u2019s promotional effort to foster support for the pilot, and the take-up of DCash by consumers and businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the conversation with Sharmyn, the following key questions were posed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" type=\"1\"><li>Can you give us an overview of DCash? And what was the impetus for OECS countries to develop their own digital currency?<\/li><li>What have been some of the results of the current pilot? How receptive have people been to DCash?<\/li><li>How receptive have the commercial banks been to DCash?<\/li><li>How will the underbanked and unbanked in the Eastern Caribbean be able to access and use DCash?<\/li><li>With regard to transactions with DCash how are KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) requirements being managed?<\/li><li>What are some of the key technologies that have been used to develop DCash?<\/li><li>How does the Bank want or expect DCash to be used, and the anticipated impact on the OECS and its economy?<\/li><li>Will DCash be able to alleviate some of the challenges currently being experienced with e-commerce in OECS countries?<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>We would love to hear from you!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Do leave us a comment either here beneath this article, or on our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ICTPulse\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Facebook<\/strong><\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/ict-pulse-consulting-limited\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>LinkedIn<\/strong><\/a> pages, or via Twitter, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ICTPulse\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>@ICTPulse<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Select links<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Below are links to some of the organisations and resources that either were mentioned during the episode, or otherwise, might be useful:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/sharmyn-powell-447544142\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sharmyn Powell<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eccb-centralbank.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Eastern Caribbean Central Bank<\/a><\/li><li>ECCB press release, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eccb-centralbank.org\/news\/view\/eccb-governor-announces-dcash-public-launch\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em>ECCB Governor Announces DCash Public Launch<\/em><\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/eccb-centralbank.org\/p\/about-the-project\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">DCash \u2013 About the Project<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/eccb-centralbank.org\/p\/frequently-asked-questions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">DCash \u2013 Frequently Asked Questions<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.hyperledger.org\/use\/fabric\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Hyperledger Fabric<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Image credits:  ECCB; Max Pixels;  Wikimedia Commons<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Music credit: Red Peas and Rice, Ray Holman<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Podcast editing support: Mayra Bonilla Lopez<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) is in the process of piloting DCash, the Central Bank Digital Currency for the countries of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS). Sharmyn Powell Chief Risk Officer of the ECCB discusses DCash, along with the plans the Bank has for the currency in the future, and key trends that have been emerging in the OECS fintech space. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":159559,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[355],"tags":[336,324,115,357],"class_list":["post-159555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-podcast","tag-blockchain","tag-digital-currencies","tag-e-transactions","tag-interviews","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Featured-Image-Sharmyn-Powell-ECCB.jpg?fit=1024%2C576&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2iE1G-Fvt","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=159555"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159555\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":159570,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159555\/revisions\/159570"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/159559"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=159555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=159555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=159555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}