Mexico’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) may now not be ready by 2024 as previously indicated, according to Banxico, the country’s central bank.

The digital Peso’s launch was originally announced by the Mexican government back in 2021.Yet according to the central bank’s general directorate of payment solutions and market infrastructures, the prerequisites for the issuance of Mexico’s CBDC are still being decided, and development is still in its early phases.

Banxico governor, Victoria Rodrguez Ceja said in April last year that the bank would need around three years to finalise the entire development cycle.

However, this is in contrast to the statements made by the central bank claiming there is no CBDC launch date as yet, Cryptopolitan reports.

According to the central bank president, the principal reason for the creation of the CBDC is to broaden access to financial services for more of the population that depends on cash transactions.

Banxico president Andrés Manuel López Obrador said the government should make the most of this innovation and the latest generation of payment systems to increase access to banking services for low-income households.

Furthermore, the central bank is planning to increase the range of possibilities for quick payments whilst making sure the economy is efficient and interoperable. The Banxico governor also said she is keen to promote innovation and enable programmable money, the Cryptopolitan report goes on to add.

Last year it was revealed that over $500,000 of central bank funding was allocated to the creation of the CBDC. As well as blockchain and digital currencies, the governor said Banxico is working on an upgrade to its SPEI 2 high-value interbank payment system.

This system will permit settlement in several currencies, accept foreign currencies as payment and settle or deliver securities in real-time in Mexico.