The first test of the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey’s (CBRT) central bank digital currency (CBDC), the Digital Turkish Lira, has been completed, and the CBRT has indicated that it intends to carry out more trials through 2023.
In a statement issued on December 29, the CBRT reported that it had successfully carried out its “first payment transactions” with the digital lira.
In the first quarter of 2023, it said it will continue to conduct restricted, closed-circuit pilot tests with technology partners before broadening it to include a few banks and financial technology firms in the second half of the year.
Before revealing more about the following phases of the study, which will further increase participation, it was said that the results of these tests will be made available to the public through a “comprehensive evaluation report.”
In a study project titled “Central Bank Digital Turkish Lira Research and Development,” the Turkish central bank first disclosed in September 2021 that it was investigating into the advantages of adopting a digital Turkish Lira.
The government stated it had “made no final decision regarding the issuance of the digital Turkish lira” at the time, indicating it had not yet committed to fully digitising the nation’s money.
According to the CBRT’s most recent announcement, it would keep testing distributed ledger technologies in payment systems, as well as their “integration” with instant payment systems.
Along with its technological requirements, it will also give priority to researching the legal aspects of the digital Turkish Lira, such as the “economic” and “legal framework” surrounding digital identification.
The Kazakhstan central bank has advocated the establishment of an in-house CBDC as early as 2023 with a phased rollout over three years, while the Bank of England has accepted applications for a proof of concept for a CBDC wallet.
