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The Central Bank of Eswatini (CBE) has partnered with Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) to research and explore the development of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). G+D's appointment stems from the completion of the 1st phase of the CBDC Diagnostic Study conducted in 2020 which found that a retail CBDC presented the strongest and direct opportunity for the adoption of a digital currency in Eswatini.

On February 12, 2023, the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates (CBUAE) published its Financial Infrastructure Transformation (FIT) Programme to accelerate the digital transformation in the financial services sector. It comprises implementation of nine key initiatives, including the issuance of central bank digital currency (CBDC) for cross-border and domestic uses.

The Central Bank of Eswatini (CBE) has published a consultative paper that sets out the design characteristics of a potential retail digital lilangeni. The Bank has partnered with Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) to advance its research and exploration of CBDCs and is now entering the experimentation phase of its CBDC project. It will be based on a two-tiered operating model, where the CBE operates the core infrastructure and intermediaries are in charge of distributing CBDC to end users, once obtained from the CBE, and handle all customer-facing activities. It will be unremunerated, transactions will be free of charge to consumers, and it will enable true and full interoperability with the existing payment methods and wholesale and retail infrastructures. Offline functionality will ensure continued usage even in the absence of an internet connection, during power outages, or simply in certain rural areas. Some payments with - and wallets that store - digital lilangeni will be equipped with programmability features for value-added and innovative use case scenarios.

The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) DCash central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot expanded to Anguilla, and now the digital version of the EC currency is legal tender in all eight ECCB member countries. Liberty Co-operative Credit Union (LCCU) is the first financial institution in Anguilla to join the Pilot and will begin processing DCash applications for both merchant and consumer wallets for their customers. Citizens and residents who are not customers of LCCU may obtain a DCash value-based wallet by signing up through the app.

The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) is preparing for a full "commercial deployment" of DCash, the central bank digital currency (CBDC) it has been piloting since March 2021. Governor Timothy Antoine said the ECCB "intends to move forward with alacrity" on the CBDC project, "and will conclude its pilot [by end-2023] and launch DCash 2.0, which is commercial deployment".

The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) issued a Request for Vendor Information (RFVI) seeking input from vendors to shape the discovery process for the commercial deployment of its DCash retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) technology solution. In particular, the ECCB is seeking input from vendors that have "developed a retail CBDC solution or core components of such a solution which is deployment-ready". Upon evaluation of responses vendors may be invited to further participate in a subsequent request for proposals (RFP) exercise. The ECCB, working with technology partner Bitt, has been piloting the DCash across its eight-member island countries since 2021, so this announcement comes as a surprise.

The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) has revealed that an expired certificate caused its pilot central bank digital currency (CBDC), DCash, to go offline from January 14. Karina Johnson, the ECCB project manager for the DCash pilot, said that "the version of Hyperledger Fabric (HLF)", the network that hosts DCash's distributed ledger, "had a certificate expire". To install an up-to-date certificate, the currency's operators are undertaking "a version change of HLF and associated systems.

The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) is completing the final testing and assurance exercises following several system upgrades and will make the DCash platform available for public use during the week of March 7. The DCash system has been down since January 14. The interruption was due to an expiring certificate on the version of the Hyperledger Fabric that hosts the DCash ledger, and not to any external intervention. It has taken longer than expected to fix the problem because the ECCB took the opportunity to undertake several upgrades platform including enhancing the system's certificate management processes, and updating the version of Hyperledger Fabric. Other upgrades will allow the platform to process government disbursements to individuals and permit commercial websites to accept DCash. The ECCB says that the security and integrity of all DCash data, applications and architecture, including all central bank, financial institutions, merchant and wallet apps remain secure and intact.

The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) announced that full functionality of the DCash CBDC platform has been restored effective March 9. It had been down since January 14, 2022As part of the restoration, the platform now benefits from several upgrades including an enhanced certificate management process and an updated version of the software which provides the foundation for the DCash system. Extensive testing and assurance exercises were conducted prior to restoration of the platform to ensure full functionality of the service in accordance with quality assurance specifications.

Sweden does not yet need a central bank digital currency (CBDC) according to a government-appointed investigation. After more than two years' work, the Payments Investigation presented over 900 pages of analysis to the government. The inquiry, led by Anna Kinberg Batra, concluded the case for a Swedish CBDC or e-krona is not yet strong enough. It recommended Sveriges Riksbank continue to study CBDC and return to Sweden's parliament in 2024 with new proposals, if warranted. https://betalningsutredningen.se/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/prm-betalningsutredningen-final-31-mars-2023.pdf

In March 2023, the CBUAE announced the launch of its CBDC strategy, the first phase of which was expected to be complete June 2024. It included a soft launch of the BIS Innovation Hub led mBridge cross-border wholesale CBDC platform, proof-of-concept work for bilateral CBDC bridges with India, and proof-of-concept work for domestic wholesale and retail CBDC. The CBUAE aims to ensure the readiness of the UAE to integrate CBDC-based payment infrastructures with the future potential tokenization world.