The European Commission and the European Central Bank (ECB) have released a joint statement saying they’re considering beginning work on a digital euro.
The statement said both entities are “pursuing their efforts towards ensuring a strong and vibrant European digital finance sector and a well-integrated payments sector to respond to new payment needs in Europe.”
And now, with the shift to digital and the rapid changes in how people pay, including the use of cryptocurrency, the statement said the ECB is looking at the possibilities for the digital euro. It would be a “complement to cash and payment solutions supplied by the private sector,” according to the statement.
Now that a public consultation that took place Jan. 12 is over, the ECB is ready to consider whether to start a digital euro project, and it is expected to decide by the middle of the year, the statement said.
The project would entail numerous considerations on design and technical issues, and it would give the ECB the tools it needs in order to make a digital euro if it decides to do so, according to the statement.
Both the European Commission and ECB are “jointly reviewing at technical level a broad range of policy, legal and technical questions emerging from a possible introduction of a digital euro, taking into account their respective mandates and independence provided for in the Treaties,” the statement said.
Christine Lagarde, president of the ECB, said in November that a digital euro might become a reality within two to four years, PYMNTS reported. The timeline involves concerns over money laundering and privacy, along with the technology involved.
But Lagarde said she thought it was only a matter of time before such a currency became available, according to the report. She said it was worth looking into if it could be cheaper, faster and more secure for users.
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