The National Bank of Ukraine plans to use blockchain or distributed ledger technology in the country for facilitating a cashless economy.

The NBU Board has approved a roadmap for Cashless Economy, which for the first time reveals the official plans, with their expected timeline, for the use of blockchain technologies in Ukraine, Forklog reported.

According to the roadmap, the central bank plans to issue “e-money” which will serve as the cashless payment instrument. The bank plans to issue electronic money to optimize blockchain use and to create an alternative to card payments. According to the road map, it will occur no later than the fourth quarter of 2017.

The NBU has been considering using blockchain for the implementation of Cashless Economy for quite some time. In September, Serhii Shatsky, Director of Payment Systems and Innovative Development Department, said:

“NBU is committed to assist the Ukrainian payment market to become mainly cashless; for that end, latest financial technology may be useful. Therefore, we try to keep open the dialogue with market. In return, we also look into solutions, which could facilitate payments both for citizens and SME. Among such are cloud technologies, mobile payments, QR-codes to pay for goods and services, Blockchain based solutions, which are set to prove their viability in payments area”, as quoted by Forklog.