A member of the executive board of the European Central Bank (ECB) said the German-headquartered regulator is building consensus for a digital euro.
In a speech to the European Parliament in Brussels on Wednesday (March 30), Fabio Panetta said recognizing the political need for a digital euro will not guarantee its use.
“… we are getting a clearer picture of what citizens and merchants want, so we can fine tune all the design features of a digital euro before any potential issuance,” he told lawmakers. “Legislators have a key role to play …”
Previously, the ECB has discussed broad policy objectives. In his remarks, Panetta highlighted features that will make a digital euro attractive to all and sought the Parliament’s help to achieve those objectives.
The primary element of a digital euro is to maintain the use of central bank money as the economy becomes increasingly digitalized. But for a digital euro to fulfill this role, he said, consumers must be able and willing to use it.
“Ideally, all merchants across the euro area … need to accept a digital euro,” he said. “Twenty years ago, the introduction of euro banknotes made it possible for us to pay with physical euros anywhere in the euro area. So, it is no surprise that people expect to be able to use the digital complement to banknotes wherever they can pay digitally or online.”
The other feature consumers value is instant, simple, contactless payments, especially for person-to-person payments, he added.
While cash remains essential and the ECB will ensure that people continue to have access to cash, he said, focus groups confirm the shift toward digital payments.
Last fall, Bloomberg reported Panetta pledged that the digital euro would appeal to the public and won’t be overwhelmed by other private payment types.
See also: ECB Board Member: Digital Euro Would Not Be Redundant
The digital euro will be successful if it’s widely available and cheap enough for consumers and merchants to want to use it, he added.
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