Digital Euro
Digitalisation has spread to most aspects of our lives and transformed the way payments are made. In this new era, the creation of a digital euro would guarantee that residents of the euro area can maintain free access to a simple, safe, trusted and universally accepted means of payment. A digital euro is another form of central bank money, similar to cash, accessible to all residents and firms, but issued in a digital form. The digital euro will not replace cash, but rather complement it by providing an alternative means of payment, including in payment channels that cannot be reached by cash, as in e-commerce. Furthermore, the Eurosystem will continue to ensure that all residents have access to euro cash across the euro area. More information on the concept of the digital euro is available on the ECB website.
In October 2020, the European Central Bank (ECB) published a report on the digital euro where it examined the issuance of a central bank digital currency (CBDC). In July 2021, the Governing Council of the ECB decided to launch an investigation phase of a digital euro project. In October 2021 a two-year investigation phase was launched, and it was concluded in October 2023. The aim of this investigation phase was to analyse different digital euro designs and distribution models, as well as the impact that a digital euro might have on the market.
Following the conclusion of the investigation phase in October 2023, the ECB Governing Council decided to continue with the digital euro project and initiated the digital euro preparation phase on 1 November 2023 which is set to last for another two years. The preparation phase will include the finalization of the digital euro rulebook and will select providers that could develop a digital euro platform and infrastructure. Furthermore, such phase will incorporate experimentation and tests to develop a digital euro that meets the Eurosystem's requirements and users' needs.
In June 2023, the European Commission also published a legislative proposal on a digital euro and legal tender of Euro and the acceptance of Euro cash. The proposed legislative text establishes a framework to facilitate the possible introduction of a digital euro and to make it widely usable and available throughout the euro area. On 24 June 2024, the ECB published its first progress report on the digital euro preparation phase. Subsequently, on 2 December 2024. the ECB released the second progress report on the digital euro preparation phase. These reports outline the progress made on key design aspects of the digital euro and delineate the anticipated next steps for the project. It is envisaged that the next progress report on the preparation phase will be published in the second quarter of 2025.
In November 2024, the Central Bank of Malta (the Bank) carried out a survey among Maltese households to assess their awareness of the proposed Digital Euro and their willingness to adopt it. A report in this regard was published in February 2025 incorporating the outcome of this survey and is available on the CBM website.
ECB Quiz
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