SBP plans to launch Pakistan’s first digital currency

ISLAMABAD – State Bank of Pakistan Governor Jameel Ahmad has said that Pakistan is working on launching the country’s first digital currency.

Talking to the Senate Standing Committee on Finance, the SBP governor said that they had been in contact with the top peers from around the world in this regard.

He stated that they were in discussions with about 10 prominent central banks that had been looking into the idea and that the introduction of digital money would happen only after a full evaluation and conclusion of the project.

"Since the EU member states and institutions want to make sure they are incharge, not the private sector, as we have seen in the US, digital money has become a hot subject for politicians throughout the world," he stated.

A fresh campaign to persuade member nations and the European Parliament to support a digital version of the 20-nation common currency has been launched by European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis, who has made financial stability its cornerstone.

He contends that the EU must adopt the digital euro in order to avoid falling "behind the curve" in terms of international payments, private-label digital currencies, and electronic central bank money.