European Central Bank (ECB) Launches Digital Euro Project

The European Central Bank (ECB) has revealed it will be beginning work on a digital version of the euro currency. Citing that “Digitalization has spread to every corner of our lives and transformed how we pay,” the ambitious project wants to guarantee that European citizens maintain costless access to a simple, accepted, safe, and trusted payment stream.

“Our work aims to ensure that in the digital age, citizens and firms continue to have access to the safest form of money, central bank money, ” Said Christine Lagarde, President of the ECB. The project, expected to start in October 2021, will take two years in the research and investigation stage and an additional two years of implementation.

ECB Executive Board members want this time to engage key European leaders to consider all issues surrounding the digital euro and its impact on Europeans. “We will engage with the European Parliament and other European decision-makers and inform them regularly about our findings. Citizens, merchants, and the payments industry will also be involved.” Fabio Panetta, ECB Executive Board member.

ECB believes a digital euro must meet the needs of all Europeans while simultaneously helping to prevent criminal activities and avoiding detrimental impact on financial markets and monetary policy. It’s clear any future decision on the possible issuance of a digital euro is still up in the air, but a digital euro should complement its EURO cash, not replace it.