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Bahamas Sand Dollar

Central Bank of The Bahamas

Status

Overall Status:Live
Policy Stance:Supportive
Availability
Retaillive
Wholesalenone

Metrics

Wallets:138,000
Annual Volume:$0B
As of:2023-12-31
Confidence:high

Architecture

Typeretail
Architecturetwo-tier
Access Modelaccount based
Legal Tenderfull

Cross-Border Projects

No cross-border projects reported.

Capabilities

offline payments
programmability
cross border
interest bearing
transaction limits

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Bahamas have a CBDC?

Yes, Bahamas is developing Bahamas Sand Dollar, currently in live phase.

What is the status of Bahamas's CBDC?

Bahamas Sand Dollar is in live phase as of 2026-02-17. The CBDC has launched for public use.

When did Bahamas launch its CBDC pilot?

The pilot launched on 2019-12-27. As of 2023-12-31, it has 138,000 wallets.

How many people use Bahamas's CBDC?

As of 2023-12-31, Bahamas Sand Dollar has 138,000 wallets/users. Annual transaction volume is $0 billion.

Is Bahamas's CBDC retail or wholesale?

Bahamas Sand Dollar is a retail CBDC designed for public use in everyday transactions.

Which central bank manages Bahamas Sand Dollar?

Bahamas Sand Dollar is managed by Central Bank of The Bahamas.

Recent Developments

World's first live CBDC launched October 20, 2020. Sand Dollar is a digital version of the Bahamian dollar issued by the Central Bank of The Bahamas through seven Authorized Financial Institutions (AFIs). National rollout began after successful pilot in Exuma (December 2019) and Abaco (February 2020) islands. Features limited offline capability for disaster resilience. Adoption remains below 1% of currency in circulation; central bank mandated commercial bank distribution in 2024.

Updated: 2/17/2026

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