IMF Chief Says Central Bank Digital Currencies Can Replace Cash — Urges Public Sector to Prepare for CBDC Deployment
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva says central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) can replace cash. She has urged the public sector to “keep preparing to deploy CBDCs and related payment platforms,” emphasizing that these platforms “should be designed from the start to facilitate cross-border payments, including with CBDCs.” IMF Chief Encourages CBDC Adoption Kristalina Georgieva, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), discussed central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) Wednesday at this year’s Singapore Fintech Festival. The IMF also released a CBDC handbook as a reference guide for policymakers and experts at central banks and ministries of finance around the world. The IMF chief detailed: CBDCs can replace cash which is costly to distribute in island economies. They can offer resilience in more advanced economies. And they can improve financial inclusion where few hold bank accounts. “CBDCs would offer a safe and lo