Ecuador Embraces ‘Electronic Money,’ Misses the Whole Point
Ecuador’s national assembly voted Thursday afternoon, local time, in favor of a new draft of the country’s monetary and financial code that, among other things, establishes a state monopoly over the issuance of “electronic money.” The bill, with 91 votes in favor, now goes to President Rafael Correa, who must sign off on it before it can become law. “The project seeks to continue a process of conversion of a bourgeois class status to a popular classless state where the rules are not defined by the ruling class (conceived as the media power of private financial groups, corporatism....
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As previously reported on CNN, Ecuador has now started to implement their new electronic cash system through the Central Bank of Ecuador. Ecuador has long needed a better and more inclusive way to integrate the sixteen million Ecuadorians into the nation's economy and banking system. Approximately 40% of the population are "unbanked", so this can have many benefits to the state and the economy as a whole. The Central Bank of Ecuador held a press conference to reveal the details of the EMS or Electronic Money System. As of now, the US Dollar is the de facto national currency and will be....
The National Assembly of Ecuador has effectively banned bitcoin and decentralized digital currencies while establishing guidelines for the creation of a new, state-run currency. With 91 votes in favor of the amendments to the country's existing monetary and financial laws, the National Assembly approved a bill that now goes to President Rafael Correa for signature. The law gives the government permission to make payments in 'electronic money', but decentralized digital currencies like bitcoin will now be prohibited. The proposed electronic money is to be backed by the assets of the Banco....
Banco Central del Ecuador (BCE) announced it has officially entered into the first phase of the establishment of its own electronic cash system, asking citizens over 18 years old to open an account using their smartphones. Starting from December 23, Ecuador citizens over 18 years old can open an electronic money account using a simple code that is required to be enter on their mobile phones, reads the official release. This date triggers the beginning of the country's three-phase launch, said the central bank. From mid-February 2015, the second phase will consist in processing the first....
While more and more countries are recognizing the technological achievement that is bitcoin, Ecuador is seemingly taking a step back by effectively banning bitcoin and other digital currencies in a recent legislative vote, as reported by CoinDesk. The ban came as part of a series of amendments to the financial law in the small South American country, of which there were reportedly 91 lawmaker votes in favor. The amendment will allow the Ecuadorian government to make payments is "electronic money", but slashes the potential for crypto-currencies that have seemingly been taking the financial....
The government of Ecuador is pushing forward to establish its national electronic currency, PanAm Post reports. The central bank has given 360 days to all financial institutions in Ecuador to get on board. Top financial institutions with assets of more than $1 billion USD will have only 120 days to comply. Ecuador's official Resolution 064-2015-M, announced on May 25, states that all entities of the public, private, and cooperative financial sectors must join the government-run Electronic Currency System as "Macro Agents." Financial institutions will have to provide an electronic tender....