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The European Central Bank (ECB) has published its first progress report on the digital euro preparation phase, highlighting key design features and ongoing developments. The report emphasizes high privacy standards for both online and offline payments, aiming to provide users with a cash-like level of privacy.
The European Central Bank (ECB) published on Monday its “first progress report on the digital euro preparation phase.”
The report outlines the development of key design features, including high privacy standards for both online and offline payments, aiming to “offer users a cash-like level of privacy for payments in physical shops and between individuals,” the ECB said, elaborating:
When paying offline, personal transaction details would only be known to the payer and the payee and would not be shared with payment service providers, the Eurosystem or any providers of supporting services.
The ECB is also working on a methodology for setting digital euro holding limits to ensure financial stability and effective monetary policy transmission. This involves collaboration with national central banks and other stakeholders.
“Digital euro holdings of individuals would not be remunerated and would be subject to holding limits,” the central bank noted. “The ECB has started work on a calibration methodology to define the holding limits, which entails a comprehensive monetary and economic assessment.”
Additionally, the ECB continues to provide technical input to legislative discussions and is finalizing the digital euro rulebook, which is a comprehensive set of rules, standards, and procedures being developed by the Eurosystem to standardize digital euro payments across the euro area.
