To carry out transactions with an e-euro, you would have to wait until a maximum of 2026 according to the European Central Bank, which is working on this project. The objective of this future tool is to meet a growing demand for electric payments and a significant decrease in the use of cash.

Christine Lagarde, the Director General of the European Central Bank (ECB), sets the deadline for implementing the digital euro, an electronic form of central bank money existing alongside cash, at a maximum of 5 years.

LIKE BANK NOTES
In practice, the digital euro will be “like bank notes but in digital form” to “make daily payments in a fast, simple and secure way”, continued the former directive of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

These comments, reported by Reuters, were made at the presentation of the results of a public consultation on the creation of a digital euro launched a year ago. Via an online questionnaire, individuals and professionals alike could submit their proposals on the functionalities of this future device, the obstacles to its implementation and the model that they think was the most attractive (with or without an intermediary for example).

In total, the consultation received responses from 8221 participants. A “record” among the public consultations launched to date by the institution, the ECB is delighted.

INCREASED DEMAND FOR PAYMENT CONFIDENTIALITY
Payment confidentiality occupies “the first place among the requested characteristics of a digital euro (41% of responses), followed by security (17%) and pan-European reach (10%)”, reads the press release.

A fuller analysis of this consultation will be published in spring 2021. It will be “an important contribution” to the Governing Council of the ECB, the main decision-making body, when it decides to launch the digital euro project.

A DROP IN CASH USE
The Eurosystem working group, bringing together experts from the ECB and 19 national central banks of the euro area, has already identified several possible scenarios that would require the issuance of a digital euro, such as increased demand for electric payments in the euro area, a significant decrease in the use of cash as a means of payment...

Experts also cite “the launch of global private means of payment,” such as the cryptocurrency led by Facebook Libra, which raise “regulatory concerns” and “risks for financial stability and consumer protection.”

The Bank of France is also considering launching a central bank digital currency (MDBC) in the near future. This cryptocurrency should improve the efficiency of the financial system by streamlining transactions