“(It) is a milestone in the history of monetary instruments,” said Bitt CEO Brian Popelka during a press conference broadcast online.
The system allows users even without bank accounts - but with a smartphone - to use a downloaded app for payments.
Unlike cryptocurrencies, it is issued by an official central bank and has a fixed value, tied to the existing Eastern Caribbean dollar used across much of the region.
Officials said that by September at the latest, the digital currency will be available in Anguilla, Dominica, Montserrat and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which form part of the eight island economies under the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank.
Eastern Caribbean dollar goes digital, a help for unbanked
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Eastern Caribbean dollar goes digital, a help for unbanked
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