Central Bank Digital Currency in an Emerging Market Economy: Case of the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye

Abstract

Central banks have historically been using traditional channels for communication and physical money for transactions, fulfilling the needs of previous millennia, while the evolution of technology, electronic devices, and needs in transactions necessitate the use of modern communication channels, such as X (formerly known as Twitter), as well as modern payment systems, such as central bank digital currencies (CBDC). Hence, this paper aims to unfold where the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT), as an example of emerging markets, stands in informing the public about CBDC. To this end, it conducts an event study on the official X account of CBRT in English over 10.2020-12.2022 by utilizing Nvivo. The findings of the quantitative analysis of the tweets show that CBRT does not regard X as a primary communication channel and mainly shares links to publications from the official websites in X. Also, CBRT tends to adopt a ‘cold-turkey’ informative approach about CBDC with the public rather than ‘gradualism’. Consequently, CBRT should rigorously design a communication strategy that fulfills the needs of the modern economy and start addressing CBDC to raise awareness if a quick transition to digital currency is targeted.