ECB starts trial phase: on the way to the digital euro

The introduction of the digital euro is becoming more concrete: the ECB is starting a two-year trial phase. The digital currency is supposed to compete with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.

It is the next step in the direction of the digital euro: The European Central Bank is now starting a major project, initially limited to two years. During this time, the central bankers are working on a possible digital currency. It should not only be about technical aspects, but also about data protection and the privacy of users.

So will Europeans soon be able to pay for their coffee with the digital euro? That is not certain yet, says Jürgen Schaaf, who is responsible for the project at the ECB. “That said, a final decision has not yet been made, but if you will, the missile detonated the first stage.”

The digital euro is the same as the cash euro

The ECB will probably only decide after the project has been completed whether it really takes off. But what do consumers get from such a digital euro, now that they can already pay digitally – for example with their smartphone at the checkout, their credit card or online payment services on the Internet? Schaaf, consultant for the Market Infrastructure and Payment Transactions department, explains the difference as follows:

You can pay digitally; you as a citizen do this largely with so-called commercial bank money, i.e. money that ultimately belongs to the bank. If you were paying with the digital euro, you would be paying electronically with something similar to cash.

And he is just as sure of that. Even in the event of a bank failure, citizens could access it. According to Schaaf, the digital euro cash should only complement, not replace. The ECB is thus developing a European alternative to crypto currencies such as Bitcoins.

She also wants to counter foreign private corporations like Facebook, which are developing their own currency – because, as ECB representative Schaaf warns: “We have to make sure that even in five to ten years the monetary and financial sovereignty of Europe is not completely in our hands -European, private or state provider of digital solutions. ”

Banks and data protectionists are not without skepticism

Although many questions about the digital euro are still unanswered, the banks are concerned that it could possibly make them superfluous. That is why they are already bringing their own suggestions into play – for example the Volks- und Raiffeisenbanken. For example, Andreas Martin, member of the board of directors of the federal association, said at a press conference at the beginning of the week: “A digital euro should be available to citizens as a digital form of cash for their everyday payments, and the supply should be via the existing one, as with cash Bank details. ” Consumers would then get the digital euro from their house bank, for example to carry it around on their smartphone in a cash app and use it to pay anywhere – with or without an internet connection.

The European data protectionists are also closely monitoring the project. They are calling for the digital euro to be programmed in such a way that consumers can use it to pay anonymously – at least for small amounts at the checkout. Michael Kaiser from the Hessian data protection supervisory authority warns, otherwise the introduction and use of the digital euro threatens a complete monitoring of the payment behavior of every user. “Such complete monitoring cannot be justified by the requirements for the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing,” said data protection officer Kaiser. At the ECB it is said that from a technical point of view something like this could also be implemented to a large extent – but what level of anonymity makes sense is currently still being discussed.