At the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2023, taking place in Davos, Switzerland, South African Reserve Bank (SARB) Governor Lesetja Kganyago addressed some of the difficulties surrounding the adoption of central bank digital currencies ( CBDC).

Kganyago shared his thoughts on CBDCs in a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum 2023 titled “In the Face of Fragility: Central Bank Digital Currencies.” He questioned whether or not there is a real problem that can be handled by this new technology.

Kganyago questioned whether or not this was a case of finding a solution to a problem, or whether or not there was a genuine problem that needed to be addressed.

The central bank governor also brought up the fact that nations looking at CBDCs and doing research on them have cited a number of different reasons for wanting to establish them.

This involves upgrading the central bank, improving the efficiency of national payment systems, addressing failures in internal markets, and ensuring that everyone has access to sufficient financial resources.

On the other hand, the government official raised the issue of the lawsuit.

Before CBDCs can be implemented, there needs to be a discussion at the national level, as Kganyago noted.

He said that before making this available to the general public, central banks must first determine whether or not the general public is interested in using it.

In light of these arguments, Kganyago said that the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) is approaching the issue of CBDCs with extreme caution. From what he said, “We’re going to be straight-A students when it comes to retail CBDCs” and “I’d rather be a follower than a pioneer.”

In 2021, the governor of the SARB expressed his disagreement with the idea that cryptocurrencies should be classified as currencies.

The government official said that the cryptocurrency only meets two of the three standards for currencies and argued that it is not in widespread use.