30 March 2022

ECB: Study on New Digital Payment Methods

This study seeks to provide the European Central Bank (ECB) with a thorough understanding of the current payment habits of citizens of euro area countries and specifically their attitudes towardsdigital payment methods.

 In addition, it aims to explore the user
perspective on new digital payment methods and potential key
features which could drive the adoption of a new digital means of
payment with a view to further informing the Eurosystem’s
investigation of a possible digital euro. Participants were not
immediately presented with the concept of a digital euro for a
number of reasons, including the inherent complexity and novelty
of the concept of central bank digital currencies in general and the
concept of the digital euro in particular, as well as the need to avoid
allowing people’s perceptions of the provider to prejudice their
views on the payment method. Instead, the concept of a new
“digital wallet” was introduced to encourage discussions about
possible desirable features and functionalities of a new digital
payment method in comparison to those already on the market.
The concept of the digital euro was introduced towards the end to
explore the existing level of knowledge and understanding among
respondents as well as people’s perceptions of a digital euro backed
by the ECB/Eurosystem.

This report is based on insights from qualitative research conducted
in all euro area countries. To ensure the robustness of the research
and to obtain a holistic overview of the perceptions and attitudes
on the topic, a carefully selected range of target audiences were
interviewed across all 19 euro area countries, including 2,160
members of the general public, 142 tech-savvy participants, 138
merchants and retailers, and 89 individuals with limited access to
banking services or the internet, all of whom were interviewed
using a qualitative approach tailored for each target group. The
research methodology is presented in more detail in Chapter 2. The
results from the research are presented per target group starting
from chapter 3. Country fiches in Annex 1 provide information
about the context at a country level, equally highlighting any
divergences from the main research results

ECB

© ECB - European Central Bank