Fiji CBDC Tracker

Fiji is in the research phase. Reserve Bank of Fiji governor Ariff Ali said the central bank is taking a “cautious approach” to CBDCs.

CBDC History and Development

The Reserve Bank of Fiji convened with other central banks in June 2024 under the Alliance for Financial Inclusion’s Pacific Islands Regulation Initiative. CBDCs were discussed in the context of the meeting’s theme: “Sustainable Futures: Advancing Pacific Resilience through Inclusive Green Finance.”

In December 2024, the Reserve Bank of Fiji was given a presentation by ANZ Group CEO Shayne Elliott. Elliot told the reserve bank that if the world continues to digitize and people choose Bitcoin, “you’ve lost control.” To combat the rise of cryptocurrencies, Elliot told the Reserve Bank of Fiji to develop a CBDC. In making his argument, Elliot cited the Reserve Bank of Australia as an example. He said ANZ Group was able to launch its own cryptocurrency (specifically, a stablecoin) based on the CBDC research conducted by the Reserve Bank of Australia. However, he did not address how his company’s cryptocurrency is different from the cryptocurrencies he previously said offer nothing but an “anonymous way to launder money.” The Reserve Bank of Fiji said no and opted instead to modernize its existing payment system, according to reporting in the Fiji Times.

Reserve Bank of Fiji governor Ariff Ali said the central bank is taking a “cautious approach.” He further said that the Reserve Bank of Fiji will “continue to keep a tab on how other central banks progress on CBDC as well monitor international new developments that may influence Fiji’s payment system moving forward.”

Human Rights and Civil Liberties Concerns

Fiji earned a 59 out of 100 in Freedom House’s 2023 Freedom in the World report. As Freedom House noted in the report, corruption is a serious problem in Fiji. The issuance or adoption of a CBDC in Fiji could worsen this issue.

According to Freedom House, “Corruption remains a serious problem, and existing safeguards are limited in their effectiveness.” The existence of pervasive corruption is a major concern with CBDCs because it calls into question any promises that might be made by the government to limit surveillance, control, or other risks of CBDCs. Furthermore, the existence of corruption calls into question whether CBDC policies might be designed to exert political favoritism through subsidies, price controls, or other targeted restrictions.

For additional information on concerns regarding violations of human rights and civil liberties, see the following reports by Amnesty International, Financial Tyranny Index, Freedom House, Human Rights Watch, Privacy International, and the U.S. Department of State. For additional information on concerns regarding the risks of CBDCs, see the following webpage and report by the Cato Institute: The Risks of CBDCs and Central Bank Digital Currency: Assessing the Risks and Dispelling the Myths.

For additional information regarding metrics, the methodology page explains each of the data points and provides their respective sources.