Eastern Caribbean Digital Currency Expands its Network

30 July 2021, Bridgetown, Barbados – DCash, the
digital currency developed by global fintech company, Bitt, has been
publicly launched by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) in the
volcano-struck country of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG).
The ECCB sees the roll-out of DCash in Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines as key to assisting with the rebuilding efforts in that
country, following the recent eruption of the La Soufriere volcano. The
DCash platform provides a safer, faster, cheaper way for persons to
send and receive funds via the use of a smart device and seeks to
increase financial inclusion in the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union
(ECCU), especially to those who do not have access to traditional
banking services.
Following the launch announcement, Bitt’s CEO, Brian Popelka,
commented, “This digital financial technology will be especially
meaningful to the unbanked and the underbanked of SVG in the wake of a
natural disaster. The public issuance of DCash in [SVG] exemplifies
Bitt’s commitment to our mandate of enabling payments and empowering
people through the licensing of our full Digital Currency Management
System (DCMS).”
Bitt has been the ECCB’s technology partner since 2019 and has
recently published its first of many international patents, based on its
DCMS. DCash is a full demonstration of this technology. Bitt implements
upgrades and feature enhancements at the direction of the ECCB, which
has ultimate ownership of DCash.
Popelka explained, “Our proprietary minting system guarantees that
the central bank will always have control over the money supply. The
public can also feel safe and secure knowing that DCash, and any other
Bitt-developed CBDC solution, is designed to be trustworthy and
controlled solely by the central bank.”
DCash is in public circulation in five of the eight ECCB member countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Saint Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The ECCB will issue DCash to the remaining three member countries by the end of September 2021. Bitt’s technical support and stakeholder engagements are already underway in those countries: Commonwealth of Dominica, and the two British Overseas Territories of Anguilla and Montserrat.