Brazil central bank president says the country could roll out a CBDC by 2022

Roberto Campos Neto, the president of the Central Bank of Brazil, has recently said that the country could have the necessary conditions for launching a central bank digital currency (CBDC) in 2022. Brazil has only recently started studying the possibility of implementing a CBDC. Last month, the central bank created a study team to research and evaluate the idea.

However, Brazil has been working on a plan to renew its banking infrastructure and develop a technology that’s capable of processing interbank payments, which is practically free and instantaneous. This new system, dubbed PIX, will be ready for implementation in November. It could also prove itself to be a significant competitor to distributed ledger technologies like Ripple's ODL.

In statements gathered by the Brazilian newspaper Correio Braziliense, Campos Neto said:

To have a digital currency, you need an instant payment system that is efficient and interoperable; an open system, where you can create competition; and a currency that has credibility, is convertible and international. This payment system could be the renowned PIX that is about to be launched.

After that, I think you've got all the ingredients to have digital currency. We think we'll have it by 2022.

The new CBDC could complement PIX. The central bank has not yet confirmed Campos Neto’s words.