The launch of the Iranian government’s digital rial is well underway. The pre-pilot phase of this CBDC project in Iran went smoothly. The news was announced at the Ninth Annual Banking Systems and Electronic Payment Conference.
CBDC in Iran: A pre-pilot phase successfully completed
Initial research on the CBDC pilot in Iran dates back to 2017. It was not until January 2022 that the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) started considering its launch. This was part of a wide adoption of digital assets in Iran.
According to the official press release from the Monetary and Banking Research Institute (MBRI), the pre-pilot phase of CBDC development in Iran is coming to an end. Everything went successfully, not to mention the valuable achievements.
The project launched in other ecosystems
According to the executive, the digital rial would follow the same regulations as rial banknotes. Mohammad Reza Mani Yekta, the director of the CBI’s office for the supervision of payment systems has indeed explain that the digital rial would be distributed to individuals and banks.
Concretely, the CBDC infrastructure in Iran recreates certain functionalities of the blockchain. Moreover, 10 Iranian banks are already ready to join the project. Some even participated in the experimental phase. These include Bank Melli, Bank Mellat and Bank Tejarat
From now on, all banks and credit institutions in Iran will have to put in place the necessary measures to offer electronic wallets. This in order to be able to use the future digital rial. Mani Yekta, however, clarifies that the CBI is considering expanding the scope of the CBDC pilot in Iran, but in no way wants to rush its implementation.
The success of the CBDC project in Iran coincides with the arrival of Elvira Nabiullina, the Governor of the Bank of Russia in Iran. An official meeting between the Iranian authorities and the number 1 of the Bank of Russia is scheduled for the coming days. Iran and Russia have reportedly developed a gold-backed stablecoin together.
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