Opinion: Governments should use CBDCs to narrow the 1.3B unbanked gap

The author argues that central banks and governments should actively promote CBDCs to reduce the cash-to-digital divide affecting more than 1.3 billion unbanked adults. The piece says CBDCs can provide a low-cost, trusted on-ramp to formal financial services, including payments and access to savings, credit and insurance. It also cites data suggesting many countries prioritize financial inclusion in CBDC motivations and highlights recent gains in phone, account and digital payment adoption.