Brazil’s central bank president says CBDC will be ready by 2022

Brazil Central Bank President, Roberto de Oliveira Campos Neto, announced that plans to have a digital currency by 2022. In an interview with Bloomberg Markets’ Editor, Erik Schatzker, Neto said that Brazil’s central bank digital currency or CBDC will modernize the country’s banking system.

According to Neto, Brazil’s central bank leadership in 2019 led to much innovation and the creation of the BC Agenda; this came at the same time Neto became the central bank’s president. The BC or Banco Central policies were initiated to modernize the Brazilian financial system and to promote an instant payment system, which according to Neto, the bank anticipates to launch in November this year.

Additionally, Neto said that the BC Agenda policies also intended to create competition, which will establish an open finance system amongst banks in Brazil. Further, Neto said in the interview that much of these plans were already ahead of phase one and that a CBDC will be the consequence if not the cause of the BC Agenda policies being formulated.

He stressed on the importance of making the real, Brazil’s currency, more credible, convertible and bringing it up to international standards, much before they launch a digital asset. Neto stated:  

“I think the digital currency is not the cause, it’s the consequence. For you to have that, you have to have in place a system of instantaneous payments that is efficient and interoperable, you need to have an open system in which you can create competition, and you need to have a currency which has credibility, is convertible and is international. Then I think you have all the ingredients to have a digital currency. 

Meanwhile, China’s plans to launch the e-yuan has been underway and may be ready by the Winter Olympics in 2022, and could coincide with the launch of Brazil’s digital currency.