With additional tests to follow in 2023, Turkey’s central bank has completed the first CBDC test.

The first trial of the Digital Turkish Lira, the central bank’s digital currency, has been completed by the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT), and it has been indicated that more trials will be conducted during 2023. 

The central bank authority said in a statement issued on December 29 that it had successfully carried out its “first payment transactions” utilizing the virtual Lira. 

In the first quarter of 2023, it said, it would continue to conduct restricted, closed-circuit pilot testing with technology partners before broadening them to include a few banks and financial technology firms in the second half of the year.

Before revealing more about the following phases of the study, which will further increase participation, it was said that the results of these tests will be made available to the public through a “complete evaluation report.” 

In a study project titled “Central Bank Digital Turkish Lira Research and Development,” the Turkish central bank first disclosed in September 2021 that it was looking at the advantages of adopting a digital Turkish Lira. 

The government stated it had “taken no final decision regarding the issuance of the digital Turkish lira” at the time, indicating it had not yet committed to fully digitizing the nation’s money.

According to the CBRT’s most recent announcement, it would keep testing distributed ledger technologies’ “integration” with immediate payment systems in payment systems. 

Along with its technological features, it will place a higher priority on researching the legal aspects of the digital Turkish Lira, such as the “economic” and “legal framework” surrounding digital identity.