The Central Bank of the Bahamas is formulating regulations to force banks to provide CBDC access in order to stimulate its popularity

On July 2, according to Reuters, John Rolle, the governor of the Central Bank of the Bahamas, revealed that the country is currently formulating relevant regulations to require commercial banks to provide access to the central bank's digital currency "Sand Dollar" to stimulate its popularity. Rolle said that in the face of the low usage of "Sand Dollar", incentives have been turned to mandatory measures, and relevant regulations will be introduced within two years, requiring all banks to participate.
However, the promotion of CBDCs faces challenges, with the banking industry worried about the outflow of deposits and the need for banks to significantly revamp their IT systems. Currently, less than 1% of "sand yuan" is in circulation, and wallet recharges have fallen sharply. Similar problems have plagued other CBDC countries, with the public questioning its advantages and fearing increased government surveillance.
Mr. Rolle acknowledged that forcing commercial banks to embed the system could help drive more merchants, restaurants and other businesses to accept it as a means of payment, but said the Bahamas was unlikely to follow India's lead in promoting a CBDC through financial incentives, or offering interest rates to attract users to "Sa Yuan" wallets, as Israel has proposed.