Türkiye’s central bank on Monday said it had made progress on programmable payments and offline payment capabilities as part of the second phase of its Digital Turkish Lira (Digital TL) project, which aims to build a secure, interoperable and innovative digital payments infrastructure.

In its latest progress report, the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT) said the Digital TL System is being further developed in Phase 2, following the completion of the project’s first phase at the end of 2023.

“While the Digital Turkish Lira System is being matured as part of Phase 2, progress has been made in programmable payments and offline payments,” the report said.

“Work is also being carried out on the integration of financial intermediaries, the application of digital identity specifically for digital money, the use of digital assets and cross-border payments in line with interoperability principles.”

The bank emphasized that development efforts are guided by the principles of privacy, technological and architectural flexibility, interoperability, do-no-harm and non-dependence on any single financial intermediary.

The Digital TL initiative aims to provide an infrastructure for innovative use cases and to create a complementary payment channel, with expectations that it will enhance payment consistency and expand financial inclusion.

By digitizing the national currency, the CBRT seeks to strengthen monetary sovereignty, boost trust in the currency and increase efficiency in payments.

The bank said programmable payments and offline payments constitute the core focus of Phase 2.

The central bank also said the prototype system built in Phase 1 is being upgraded to a minimum viable product while work continues to integrate financial intermediaries into the system.

Once the Digital TL is put into circulation, the CBRT plans for both cash banknotes and the digital currency to coexist.


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