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The European Central Bank (ECB) has today released its findings from the public consultation on a digital euro. Notably, privacy and security were the most vouched for aspects of a digital euro. The bank needed to get opinions from the country members to develop a digital currency that is acceptable by all.
“A digital euro can only be successful if it meets the needs of Europeans,” says ECB Executive Board member Fabio Panetta. “We will do our best to ensure that a digital euro meets the expectations of citizens highlighted in the public consultation.”
According to the report, the bank received 8,200 responses from different countries. Out of which, 43% of the responses requested privacy. Further, 18% of the total responses noted security should be given the top priority. 11% requested for the bank to develop a digital euro that can pay across the zone, whilst 9%, and 8% requested for no additional cost and offline usability respectively.
Digital Euro Findings by ECB
Privacy is a key aspect that has been normalized by the cryptocurrency industry and for a digital euro to remain competitive, it will have to adopt the privacy aspect. “Privacy is the most important feature of a digital euro for both the public and professionals, especially merchants and other companies. Both groups support requirements to avoid illicit activities, with fewer than one in ten responses from members of the public showing support for full anonymity,” the report indicated.
The consultation was launched on October 12, 2020, and ended on January 12, 2020. Out of the total participants, 94% came from private citizens while the rest came from professionals including banks, payment service providers, merchants, and tech companies.
Notably, 47% of the participants came from Germany, 15% Italy, and 11% France. Although people took part voluntarily, the bank noted that the views provide valuable input for the mid-2021 decision on starting a formal investigation.
The president of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde has in the past been quoted saying the bank is working on developing a digital euro that complements the cash market. “A digital euro would complement cash and ensure that consumers continue to have unrestricted access to central bank money in a form that meets their evolving digital payment needs,” Lagarde previously noted in a blog post. She further noted that “a properly designed digital euro would create synergies with the payments industry and enable the private sector to build new businesses based on digital euro-related services.”
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