The Central Bank of Eswatini has partnered with German payments company Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) to research and explore the development of a central bank digital currency (CBDC).

G+D’s appointment stems from the completion of the first phase of a CBDC diagnostic study conducted in 2020 which found that a retail CBDC was the best option for Eswatini.

The partnership aims to advance CBDC research efforts to enable the bank to investigate the possibility of issuing a Digital Lilangeni as a complement to cash in Eswatini.

Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, joins other central banks in Africa and around the world who are exploring the potential of CBDCs to address payment and financial inclusion challenges.

“The Central Bank of Eswatini is delighted to have engaged G+D as a technical consultant to walk with us in our journey as we explore and formulate the foundational policy considerations and use cases of a localised CBDC.

 

We are confident that G+D’s technological expertise and their strong regional presence in our continent will allow us to realise all possible advantages of a Digital Lilangeni and ensure we’re fully equipped to issue a CBDC in the future,”

said Dr. Phil Mnisi, Governor of the Central Bank of Eswatini (CBE).

“The Central Bank of Eswatini and G+D have a long history of trusted collaboration that goes back more than 40 years into the early 80’s.

 

We are proud to extend this partnership from providing physical currency solutions to research and explore digital currency services in the future,”

said Dr. Wolfram Seidemann, CEO of Giesecke+Devrient Currency Technology.