Turkey will soon introduce a central bank digital currency (CBDC) early in the following year.
A central bank digital currency was being discussed in Turkey’s Presidential Annual Program for 2023, which was announced on Monday by the Presidential Strategy and Budget Directorate.
In a project dubbed “Central Bank Digital Turkish Lira Research and Development”, Turkey’s central bank said in September 2021 that it was planning to launch a CBDC to bolster its current payments infrastructure. A year later, the bank made the announcement.
As stated in the program’s Balance of Payments section’s subheading Policies and Measures, a blockchain-based central bank digital currency will be implemented. With assistance from the regional Ministry of Finance and Scientific and Technological Research Institution, the central bank of Turkey is appointed to head the operation.
The official report claimed that the Digital Turkish Lira system will be integrated with online identity and FAST, which is a payment system run by the Turkish central bank.
According to the report, the Turkish central bank will also be working with other banks to conduct testing, research, and development for the CBDC.