Deployments · platform by Central Bank of The Bahamas
Central Bank of The Bahamas Sand DollarNew
The Bahamas' retail CBDC, available nationwide since October 2020 through authorised financial institutions' mobile wallets and cards and treated as legal tender under the Central Bank Act. Take-up has stayed small: the central bank's audited accounts show B$2.76 million in circulation at the end of 2025, up from B$2.62 million a year earlier.
AnnouncedProof of conceptPilotLive (limited)Live (scaled)
Live (limited) since 20 Oct 2020[1] — Open to all residents, but circulation is tiny and no recurring transaction volumes are published, so recorded as live-limited. · Reviewed 13d ago
- Assets
- Networks
- Sand Dollar ledger Private, permissioned[4][5]A private, permissioned DLT designed by NZIA (now Movmint); the Central Bank maintains the ledger of all holdings.
- Use cases
- Domestic payments[3][1]
- Jurisdictions
- Bahamas
Participants
- Central Bank of The BahamasPlatform provider, Issuer, Operator[2]Bahamas
- MovmintTechnology provider[5][4]United States
- AvertiumTechnology provider[5]United States
- OMNI Financial ServicesDistributor[5]Bahamas
- SunCashDistributor[5]Bahamas
- MoneyMaxxDistributor[5]Bahamas
- Cash N GoDistributor[5]Bahamas
- KanooDistributor[5]Bahamas
- MobileAssistDistributor[5]Bahamas
- Island PayDistributor[5]Bahamas
- Clearing banks and credit unions may also sponsor wallets and link deposit accounts to them; none is named on the Key Players page.[5]
Assets
Metrics
- 2,622,538 BSDSand Dollar in circulation · as of 31 Dec 2024[2]
- 2,761,573 BSDSand Dollar in circulation · as of 31 Dec 2025[2]
- ~4,300,000 BSD / monthPerson-to-business and business-to-business payments (all methods) · as of Sep 2023context[3]September 2023 combined P2B and B2B value in the SandDollar ecosystem, 'the majority' settled in SandDollars; not split out, so context.
- 117,610 walletsDigital wallets in use · as of Sep 2023[3]
Timeline
- Happened 20 Oct 2020 · Launch · recorded 15 Oct 2026Sand Dollar becomes available nationwide.[1]
Sources
- [1]Digital Bahamian Dollar SandDollar — Central Bank of The Bahamas. Accessed 15 Oct 2026.B
- [2]Annual Report and Statement of Accounts 2025 — Central Bank of The Bahamas, May 2026. Accessed 15 Oct 2026.A
- [3]Public Update on The Bahamas Digital Currency (SandDollar) — Central Bank of The Bahamas, 15 Dec 2023. Accessed 26 Oct 2026.A
- [4]Observations from the Retail CBDCs of the Caribbean (Payments System Research Briefing) — Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, 10 Apr 2024. Accessed 26 Oct 2026.C
- [5]Key Players SandDollar - Bahamas — Central Bank of The Bahamas. Accessed 26 Oct 2026.B
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