Digital euro preparation from the EU – Bloomberg HT
According to the proposal, the digital euro will be a publicly available central bank digital currency issued by the European Central Bank (ECB). The digital euro will be used as a digital version of the cash euro.
Unlike crypto assets, the digital euro will have the ECB behind it, and each digital euro held, as with the cash euro, will be directly backed by the ECB. The ECB will ensure that the digital euro can be exchanged for cash euros while maintaining its reliability, value, stability and reputation.
An alternative payment solution will be offered across Europe with the digital euro, and individuals and businesses will be able to pay with digital euro in addition to the existing options.
The digital euro will become the widely accepted, cheap, safe and official currency in the Eurozone.
While this money can be used with existing national and international payment instruments such as cards or applications, it can also function as a wallet.
Individuals and businesses will be able to pay with digital euro anytime and anywhere in the Euro Zone, which can be used for internet payments, and device-to-device payments can be made in places where there is no internet connection.
The digital euro will offer the same level of data privacy as existing digital payment instruments. It will provide a high degree of privacy and data protection for users in payments made without an internet connection. Digital payments can be made without sharing personal data, and the digital euro can be accessed with banks and other payment service providers in the EU.
Provided free to individuals
Basic digital euro services will be provided to individuals free of charge. To increase financial access, people without a bank account will be able to obtain digital euros by opening an account at a post office or public institution.
All major business enterprises in the Eurozone will need to adopt the digital euro. Since the cost of new infrastructure will be high in the first stage, very small vendors will be exempted for a while.
The digital euro will contribute to the monetary sovereignty of the institution while offering innovative solutions to banks’ customers.
The EU Commission’s bill regulating the basic elements of the digital euro was submitted for approval to the European Parliament (EP) and member states after this stage.
The ECB will make the final decision on when to issue the digital euro.
The ECB is currently working with the Eurozone’s national central banks to explore whether a digital euro could be introduced.
The ECB is expected to complete the research phase for the digital euro, which began 2 years ago, in October.
