In its race against crypto-assets like bitcoin, the European Central Bank (ECB) is accelerating.
It is preparing to launch the prototype of a digital euro in 2023, after having drawn the specifications in the previous months.
Last summer, she launched the construction site of this "virtual" euro, supposed to take over from coins and banknotes (which will continue to exist in parallel), a project supposed to be completed within five years.
After two years of exploratory phase, this new form of money should thus begin to materialize.
No question of hanging around, at the risk of being taken aback by other private solutions.
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"In an increasingly digital economy, cash could become marginalized, failing to meet the needs of the population,"
Fabio Panetta, member of the ECB's executive board, explained Thursday before the European Parliament.
He admits, however, that he is navigating in
“unknown waters”
.
The challenge is not to let foreign players like Google, Apple or Facebook take over this cake of paperless payments.
Non-European operators, including Visa, already carry out 70% of card transactions.
In the long term, issues on the monetary autonomy of Europe could emerge.
A central bank virtual currency like the digital euro is supposed to offer citizens the same level of confidence as coins or banknotes, with absolute guarantee from the issuer.
This would also limit the risks weighing on the financial system.
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It is with this in mind that the People's Bank of China, the Chinese central bank, is testing its e-yuan in life size in several large cities in the country and is preparing to generalize it, probably next year.
A majority of central banks are engaged in the same process.
The Bahamas have already launched their sand dollar, a digital dollar, usable through an app, just like Nigeria with its eNaira.
Conversely, El Salvador has decided to make bitcoin its official currency, causing serious controversy among users.