The digital euro should become reality within 5 years, declared Wednesday the President of the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde, while an investigation by the institute places the confidentiality of this means of payment at the top of the expectations of the citizens.
Read also: Faced with libra, Europe is preparing its digital euro
"
I think we will have a digital euro
" and "
in no more than five years I hope
", declared Wednesday the President of the ECB, Christine Lagarde, during a virtual economic conference organized by the agency Reuters .
The most requested feature for a digital euro is the confidentiality of payments, also reveals a public inquiry by the ECB, the first results of which were released Wednesday by the institute.
The confidentiality of payments "
ranks first among the requested characteristics of a potential digital euro (41% of responses), followed by security (17%) and pan-European reach (10%),
" a statement said.
In total, 8,221 citizens, companies and professional associations responded to this online questionnaire launched last October and which ended on Tuesday, a "
record
" among the public consultations launched to date by the ECB, it is indicated.
“
The high number of responses
” shows the “
great interest
” of the public in “
shaping the vision of a digital euro,
” said Fabio Panetta, member of the ECB's executive board and chairman of the working group on the subject.
The ECB Governing Council will decide in the spring whether or not to launch this pharaonic project.
The downward trend of cash in current payments accelerated during the Covid-19 pandemic, but this method of payment remains cherished by citizens, especially in Germany, because it guarantees the anonymous nature of purchases.
Read also: The Covid-19 could accelerate the decline of cash
The digital euro will be "
like banknotes, but in a digital form
" to "
make daily payments in a fast, easy and secure way,
" says the ECB.
The institute also intends to respond to the launch of global private means of payment such as Libra, the cryptocurrency project launched by Facebook, and those adopted by other central banks such as the Chinese crypto-yuan with global ambitions.
