The German Trade Association (HDE) has called for the introduction of a digital euro. With a view to the planned meeting of EU finance ministers at the beginning of December, the association stated that it had sent a corresponding letter to Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD).
"Global credit card companies have been leveraging their strong position for years and have already reached a market dominance that trade can not ignore," wrote HDE Chief Executive Stefan Genth.
According to a report in the "Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung", Genth points out, among other things, the dominance of the MasterCard and Visa, as well as efforts for cryptocurrencies, such as Facebook's Libra. These initiatives by large companies are "in addition to generating revenues, especially data mining". The trade is therefore increasingly in danger of losing direct contact with the customer.
According to the report, the trade association has no preference on how to implement the digital euro. It is important that the sovereignty lies with the European Central Bank (ECB), said Genth. In addition to blockchain-based handling, central bank accounts for citizens could also be considered.
