Digital currencies perceived as an online payment strategy

By Wirba Brice Divine Ransinyuy. [email protected]

Much of the happenings around digital currencies has been visualised and focused on their potential to systematically and fundamentally change the financial services and system, be it during online transactions and physical transactions by enabling the financial system to be more transparent and reducing the cost and the difficulties involved like the complexity of financial transactions, thus improving financial regulation and its various rules, making it a suitable facet of the financial world. It is good to mention the fact that in reality and in theory, it is already having an impact on the financial sector. This has showed that digital currencies has transformed and would keep on transforming businesses, online affairs and the society, perhaps in a more deepen and profound manners.

Going further, as things get closer and updated in the digital world, digital currency gains more strengthen as businesses grow and develop online, the quest for a secure and guarantee payment methods or currencies pose themselves as companies and countries hurry to its use. The adoption trend of using digital currency is high both from developing and developed countries. Most South American countries are pioneer countries in terms of Central Bank of digital currency adoption for a payment strategy. The Marshall Islands, an island country with a population of close to 53,000 inhabitants who has been using the US dollars as it official currency saw an opportunity in using the digital currency not only on a payment strategy, but also to get along with their own currency. The digital currency was instituted in March 2018 and it was named as “sovereign” (SOV). The government did not just limit itself with the creation of the “sovereign”, they went ahead to create a mobile app that will be used fundamentally for payments. This is true with other South American countries like Chile.

This goes the same with Dubai. The Dubai government in September 2017 made a public announcement creating “Emcredit” that will act as a subsidiary of their economy. They did so by going ahead and signing an agreement of collaboration with a U.K based startup known as Object Tech Grp Ltd. The collaboration was intended and made for a creation of an encrypted digital currency called emCash. According to Dubai Economy Deputy Director General, Ali Ibrahim, emCash will be a legal tender like the other nation currency and it will be used for various government as well non-government services be it from minor services like daily coffee and children`s school fee to utility to major services like money transfers and payments to which it was destined for its creation as it will come with advantages and major implications like faster processing time and improved delivery time.

Looking at this, digital currency perceived as a payment strategy is a multifaceted device and strategy made to betterment of online payment strategy that is gaining more and more grounds universally.