Mauritius CBDC Tracker

Mauritius is in the pilot phase of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) development.

CBDC History and Development

In 2020, the Bank of Mauritius received assistance from the International Monetary Fund to develop CBDC research.

At an event in August 2021, Bank of Mauritius governor Harvesh Seegolam said, “At a time when rapid advancements are being made in the development of CBDCs, it is vital that central bankers across Africa work closer together. As one of the first countries in the world to benefit from the IMF’s technical assistance, Mauritius also wants to share this pioneering work with other African central banks so that we can all share the benefits, and show united African leadership in digital currency application.”

In November 2021, Bank of Mauritius governor Harvesh Seegolam noted that both Mauritius and Ghana were “both working on the introduction of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) in our respective territories.”

Speaking at an International Monetary Fund event in April 2023, Bank of Mauritius governor Harvesh Seegolam said, “As a matter of fact, the success of CBDCs hinges on awareness.” Seegolam went further saying, “Shortly after I assumed office in 2020, I deemed that working on the creation of our CBDC, the 'Digital Rupee' was to be one of our key priorities. As a central banker, I need not stress upon the determining role that CBDCs can play, not only in protecting monetary sovereignty but also in assisting central banks and regulatory authorities on the front of AML/CFT.” As part of that effort, Seegolam made sure “that the Bank of Mauritius was the first Central Bank to benefit from an IMF technical assistance in this respect.”

Looking to the future, Seegolam added that the Bank of Mauritius was “contemplating the rolling out of our Digital Rupee on a pilot phase, post the sandboxing exercise and finalisation of design attributes of our CBDC, in November this year.”

In June 2023, the Bank of Mauritius released a public consultation paper seeking to gather insights into the possibility of issuing a CBDC (called the Digital Rupee). The public was given 14 days to respond to a CBDC survey. As for what was in the consultation paper, the Bank of Mauritius write that it must “prepare itself for this new [digital] ecosystem and ensure that the whole population has access to a digital version of our rupee.” The Bank of Mauritius further said that the “introduction of a CBDC will offer opportunities for commercial banks to provide innovative services and offer a wider range of payment options.”

The Bank of Mauritius announced in January 2024 that it had launched a CBDC pilot with a commercial bank and planned to launch more pilots soon. No additional details were provided in the announcement.

Human Rights and Civil Liberties Concerns

Mauritius earned an 85 out of 100 in Freedom House’s 2023 Freedom in the World report. There have been reports of issues around the treatment of human rights and civil liberties, but most of those issues do not tie directly into the issuance or use of a CBDC. Even then, however, it’s important to recognize that the creation of a CBDC could open the door to risks to financial privacy and financial freedom.

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.