New digital currency used in the Marshall Islands for universal basic income payments
BY GIFF JOHNSON
Marshall Islands Correspondent
MAJURO, Marshall Islands — The new stable coin cryptocurrency endorsed by the Marshall Islands government, known as USDM1, will get its first major test in the RMI next month as part of the universal basic income payment.
Through the Compact of Free Association’s trust fund, the Marshall Islands last November launched a nationwide universal basic income payment to all citizens.
Bonjo Ned, center was the first recipient of a universal basic income check issued in the Marshall Islands. Finance Minister David Paul handed Ned the check. Also shown is Bryan Edejer, administrator, Marshall Islands Social Security Administration. Photo from Journal files
Although UBI has been used in many countries, the new Marshall Islands program is a world-first because quarterly payments are being made to all citizens residing in the country. The initial quarterly payment amounted to about $200 for more than 33,000 Marshallese.
The second payment will be issued March 6. Due to thousands of recipients residing on isolated atolls without access to banking services, USDM1 has been touted as a vehicle for distributing UBI quarterly payments.
In what qualifies as a pilot program, a small number of the now 36,000 eligible citizens will receive USDM1 stable coins via the company’s Lomalo wallet with the March distribution.
The Marshall Islands Social Security Administration expects to make the first UBI payments to Marshallese using the Lomalo digital wallet with the second quarter Enra payment in early March.
Bryan Edejer, administrator of MISSA, confirmed that the new digital currency known as USDM1, which people use through a digital “wallet” called Lomalo set up on their phones or other devices, will be used for a few of those eligible for the March payment.
“MISSA did not make any payments to the Lomalo wallet on the first (UBI) distribution because an onboarding with the company was a bit late,” Edejer told the Journal the week of Feb. 2.
“However, for the next one, MISSA will cater for at least 100 eligible recipients who opted for that wallet for collecting their payments.”
The second quarter payment, originally scheduled for the end of February in line with the first that was issued at the end of November, was delayed by a week to allow for more registrations of eligible.
“For UBI the first list for quarter one had 33,119 eligible recipients, but the number has gone up to 36,070 (for adults and children) and counting,” Edejer said of MISSA’s ongoing registration for the UBI program.
“So far, the project has registered 2,951 additional recipients in a span of four months (October 2025 to January 2026). There will be more.”
Registration for the second quarter payment closes February 13. mbj
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