Qatar makes plans to launch a CBDC and issue digital bank licenses

Qatar plans to issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC) and digital bank licenses. Qatar will be joining the list of countries exploring CBDCs and how they can be used to transform the financial sector.

Qatar exploring a CBDC

The head of Fintech at Qatar’s central bank, Alanood Abdullah Al Muftah, spoke at the 8^th Doha Islamic Finance Conference, where he talked about how the institution is looking towards a digitized future.

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The official said,

We’re trying to study the different aspects and verticals of fintech. We’re trying to set our direction. Each central bank should study digital banks, considering their growing significance in the global market.

Despite mentioning a CBDC, Al Muftah noted that the launch of such a product would take time. The bank is currently in the research phase to assess the feasibility of a CBDC and the effect of such a launch on the country’s financial market.

Race to CBDC development

Central banks globally have announced plans to launch CBDCs. China is leading in the race for a CBDC among developed countries. The country is currently in the testing phase for a digital yuan. During the Winter Olympics held earlier this year, China had urged foreign athletes to use the digital yuan to test its cross-border capabilities.

The Jamaican central bank is also making good progress with its CBDCV plans. The country stated that it would airdrop $16 worth of CBDC to the first 100,000 citizens that create a CBDC wallet by April 1.

The central bank of Canada also announced a partnership with MIT to assess the advantages and disadvantages arising from developing a CBDC. Europe is also in the research phase for a digital pound.

The United States is lagging behind with the launch of a digital dollar. The US Federal Reserve had announced that it would not rush its plans to develop a CBDC to ensure it did not make mistakes. Recently, the US President, Joe Biden, signed an executive order to allow federal agencies to assess the feasibility of developing a CBDC.