The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has highlighted that artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to enhance the advantages of Nigeria’s eNaira and other central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). AI’s contribution could include enabling more accurate and efficient credit scoring by analyzing diverse data sets, which would improve financial inclusion by providing tailored financial services to underserved communities.
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva discussed this potential at the Singapore Fintech Festival, emphasizing that AI could support those with low financial literacy by providing personalized assistance. However, she warned that the use of AI in CBDCs must be carefully managed to protect personal data, ensure privacy, and prevent biases that could perpetuate inequality.
Georgieva pointed to tokenization—using blockchain technology to digitize assets like bonds—as another development that could drive the value of CBDCs. She noted that such tokenization could facilitate wholesale CBDCs for asset payments, further diversifying the ways in which digital currencies can function in financial markets.
The IMF director noted that the future success of CBDCs will depend heavily on the global payments landscape and the level of cash usage, which varies by country. Georgieva mentioned that while many nations are exploring CBDCs and crafting supportive regulatory frameworks, there remains significant work to establish clear, secure use cases for these digital currencies.
The IMF has recently launched a CBDC Handbook to serve as a resource for policymakers globally, aimed at guiding countries through the complex design, implementation, and adoption of CBDCs. Georgieva encouraged public-sector stakeholders to take an entrepreneurial approach, suggesting that successful CBDC rollouts would hinge on proactive communication strategies and incentives for adoption by private-sector partners.
