Abstract
Last year, the European Central Bank started a two-year “investigation phase” on the Digital Euro, evaluating the design of a Central Bank Digital Currency as a complement to existing means of payment. While 24/7 instant payment systems are still under development in both Great Britain and the US, the Single Euro Payments Area is in the unique situation of being already served by two instant payment systems. However, SEPA instant payments are still less than 10% of the total number of retail transactions, and cash and cards are still the preferred methods of payment. Therefore, the Digital Euro project will be the first to experiment the integration between a CBDC into the evolving landscape of instant payment systems. Contrary to common opinion, digital currencies and instant payment systems are not a purely technical issue: they shall be analyzed in their economic, juridical and ethical aspects.
Speaker
