Kimwood Mott of the Central Bank of the Bahamas — Launching the First Nationwide CBDC

In today’s episode, I sit down with Kimwood Mott, Project Manager at the Central Bank of the Bahamas.

Full Episode → Spotify | Soundcloud | Apple

Kimwood has spent over 20 years in both retail and private banking sectors. As the project manager for digital currency implementation, Kimwood is tasked with improving the domestic payments space and driving the national adoption of the Sand Dollar digital currency. In this episode, we cover a range of topics, including:

Kimwood’s Path to the Central Bank of the Bahamas:

After leaving JP Morgan, Kimwood had initially decided to open a restaurant. While the restaurant saw early success, it was forced to close during the Covid-19 pandemic. After closing the restaurant, Kimwood and his son saw some of the global headlines surrounding Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) and realized that he would be the perfect fit for the Central Bank of the Bahamas to help complete their digital currency project, Project Sand Dollar.

The Goals of Project Sand Dollar:

The goals of Project Sand Dollar include:

• Increasing the efficiency of the Bahamian payments systems through more secure transactions and faster settlement speed.
• Providing non-discriminatory access to payment systems without regard for age, immigration, or residency status.
• Achieving greater financial inclusion, cost-effectiveness, and access to financial services across all of The Bahamas.
• Strengthening national defense against money laundering, counterfeiting, and other illicit ends by reducing the ill effects of cash usage.

As the first nationally rolled out CBDC, the bank has provided a blueprint for a number of other countries to follow suit.

The Impact of Hurricane Dorian and Covid-19 on the Rollout:

Shortly before the Covid-19 pandemic, Hurrican Dorain caused a massive amount of damage on two of the northern islands. These two natural disasters made it increasingly important and urgent for Project Sand Dollar to launch and help get the economy closer to normal. In particular, Covid-19 led to a significant amount of unemployment, and social assistance was typically distributed via checks. This led to crowds and lines that were exactly against Covid-19 safety protocols. Digital payments couldn’t have come at a better time, helping get funds to individuals who needed it the most.

Smartphone and Credit Card Penetration in the Bahamas:

Prior to the pilot, the team at the Central Bank collected data from across the Bahamas, and realized that the archipelago was ripe for digital payments disruption. The country had high smartphone penetration (92% of adults), a mandate to ensure that every island had high-speed cabling/internet, but low credit card penetration. These underlying demographics made it easier for Project Sand Dollar to take off.

Rapid Fire Round:

• What is your best or favorite dish?
• What time of year should people visit the Bahamas?
• Favorite fintech product?
• What does success look like for you?

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About the Author
Anirudh Singh is a first-year MBA Candidate at The Wharton School, where he is part of the Wharton FinTech Podcast team. He has a passion for sports, economic development, venture capital, financial services, and all things FinTech. Don’t hesitate to reach out with questions, comments, feedback, and opportunities at singhan@wharton.upenn.edu.