WASHINGTON (CI Africa) –(Updated on April 1, 2019 to add video of NYC cashless coffee shop Oren’s Daily Roast and Uzbek delegation led by deputy PM to discuss blockchain at IMF World Bank Spring meetings) Tunisia has become the first mover in implementing a blockchain based distributed ledger digital currency in a global drive of developed and developing economies to migrate to cashless economies, the Tunis-based founder and CEO of DigitUS Tech, Walid Driss, said.
[DigitUS Tech founder and CEO Walid Driss speaks to Capitol Intelligence/CI Africa using CI Glass on the utlization of digital currency and blockchain in Tunisia and elsewhere during the IMF World Bank Spring meetings in Washington, DC. April 17, 2018]
Driss — an American educated (Wharton/Purdue) Tunisian engineer — has already instituted a block chain based digital payment system DigiCash with the Tunisian postal service La Poste Tunisienne and is working with the Central Bank of Tunisia (Banque Central Tunisienne BCT) and newly appointed BCT Governor Marouane El Abassi to explore and study the launch of a national digital dinar for the North African democracy.
The Tunisian central bank has set-up a working group to study blockchain, digital payments and cryptocurrencies overseen by Governor El Abassi and Driss serving as a founding member.
During an interview held at the IMF World Bank Spring meetings, Driss said that El Abassi and himself discussed plans for a future digital dinar and how a digital currency can combat money laundering, decrease the country’s grey economy, and at the same time empower women and weaker segments of the Tunisian population.
Sweden’s Finance Minister Eva Magdalena Andresson said that there is nothing stopping Western countries — and emerging economies such as Tunisia and fragile state economies such as Somalia — in becoming cashless economies.
[Swedish Finance Minister Eva Magdalena Andresson speaks to Capitol Intelligence/CI MENA using CI Glass on cashless economy at IMF World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, DC. April 21, 2018]
Minister Andresson said that Sweden decided to go almost cashless as the Scandinavian country is a natural first adopter of technology and that she has no doubt that developing economies can easily adopt to a cashless economy.
Almost 90 percent of financial transactions in Sweden are cashless and neighboring Finland has set a goal to be completely cashless by 2029.
Many experts in field of the cashless economy fear that countries such as China could use tracking of payments to control their citizen and purposely make people defacto non-citizens by taking away their means to pay for basic necessities.
“In Sweden, the non-citizen would be an unintentional consequence, the big brother of China could make you poorer than a street beggar in seconds,” a central bank source said.
In fact, cashless coffee shops and stores in the United States have already created huge controversy as being inherently discriminatory against minorities, many of whom cannot or choose not to have credit cards.
The City of Philadelphia has already outlawed any store that does not take the legal tender of the United State cash while the Oren’s Daily Roast chain in New York City is already stirring the city’s racial tensions by adopting a cashless store option.
[Unidentified worker at Oren’s Daily Roast filmed by Capitol Intelligence/BBN at 71st & Lex after assaulting reporter for raising issue of cashless stores that do no accept US currency as required by law and now banned by Philadelphia as racist and discriminatory along with alleged law student employee at 1144 Lexington Ave, New York. New York]
“I cannot believe that in 2019 someone would even think of operating a store that purposely discriminate against those with no credit cards which means blacks, elderly and tourists,” an African-American NYPD police officer told Capitol Intelligence. “The only thing worse than being denied service is for one this people is to be patronizing and offer you a free coffee.”
Notwithstanding mainland China’s boast to become the leader in blockchain and the cashless economy, monetary experts universally agree that cryptocurrencies are best left to small developed countries such as Estonia or emerging economies without a truly convertible currency such as Central Asia’s Uzbekistan.
Uzbekistan is sending a high-level delegation led by the country deputy prime minister to study implementing bitcoin and blockchain technology at the upcoming IMF World Bank Spring meetings in Washington, DC next month, Uzbekistan Ambassador to the US, Javlon Vakhabov, said.
A Swedish member of parliament said that while the Swedish economy basically cashless economy is positive, it has created the very negative phenomena of disenfranchising citizens who have been declared bankrupt as they find themselves denied access to financial services.
One country that could potentially become a 100% cashless economy is Somalia as it looks to reintroduce its national currency, the Somali Shilling, after years of internal strife and famines.
[Somalia Finance Minister Dr. Abdirahan Dualeh Beileh speaks to Capitol Intelligence/CI Africa using CI Glass on Somalia becoming a cashless economy at African Finance Ministers news conference held during the IMF World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington DC. April 21, 2018]
However, Somalia Finance Minister Dr. Abdirahman Dualeh Beileh, in an interview with Capitol Intelligence/CI Africa, said that introducing a digital national currency may be a stretch, it is something that can be be studied.
The Minister noted that Somalia is a surprisingly advanced country for mobile telephony and ICT. Somalia is also strategic because of the 10,000 km EASSy fiber and telco submarine cable owned by a consortium made up of MTN International, France Telecom and Saudi Telecom.
In fact, Telecom Italia has previously entered talks with the Somali government to connecting Somalia and Saudi Arabia via fiber submarine cable.
While many in the United States and Europe talk about applied blockchain applications, Driss and his team of developers at DigitUS and affiliated group, Digital Labs, have been using cutting edge blockchain technology such as IBM Corp distributed hyperledger with an ever growing team of specialized blockchain IT developers in Tunisia.
[IBM Corporation Senior Vice President for IBM Global Industries, Platforms and Blockchain, Bridget van Kralingen, filmed by Capitol Intelligence using CI Glass with IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde at the IMF World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, DC. April 18, 2018]
The application of blockchain technology was major theme of discussion at the IMF World Bank Spring meetings. At the Spring meetings, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde hosted IBM Corp blockchain chief, Bridget van Kralingen, after doing the same with leading blockchain distribution ledger developer, Blythe Masters, CEO of Digital Asset Holdings during the IMF World Bank Annual meetings in October 2017.
IBM’s Van Kralingn overflow audience on blockchain also included top global bankers such as BNP Paribas Chairman Jean Lemierre, E.L. Rothschild Chairman Emeritus , Sir Evelyn de Rothschild, UBS AG Chairman Axel Weber, JP Morgan Chase International Chairman and former Bank of Israel Governor Jacob Frenkel.
[DigitUS founder and CEO Walid Driss filmed by Capitol Intelligence/CI MENA speaking with JP Morgan International Chairman and former Bank of Israel Governor Jacob Frenkel at IMF World Bank Spring meetings in Washington, DC. April 21, 2018]
Driss also participated along with other nascent blockhain companies such as IComplyICO founder and CEO Matthew Unger in innovation workshops organized by the IMF during the IMF World Bank Spring meetings.
DigitUS Driss said he positively surprised by the sincere interest in blockchain and digital currencies shown by European Central Bank member, Bank of Finland Governor Erkki Liikanen and Bank of Ghana Governor Ernest K.Y. Addison.
[Bank of Ghana Governor Dr. Ernest K.Y. Addison filmed by Capitol Intelligence/CI Africa using CI Glass speaking with DigitUS Tech founder and CEO Walid Driss on blockchain and digital currencies at the IMF World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, DC. April 19, 2018]
Driss said that his mission is to introduce digital national currencies in fragile and not so fragile economies of Libya, Somalia, Sudan and let these countries leapfrog the developed world while at the same time bring solutions to critical, and too often, life threatening problems.
By PK Semler in Washington, DC and Tunis, Tunisia. For more information please call +1-202-549-3399 or email pks@capitolintelgroup.com
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