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Any future European digital currency should ensure users’ payments cannot be tracked, according to respondents to a European Central Bank survey who highlighted the importance of privacy in any future monetary innovation.
More than 40 per cent of the over 8,200 respondents to the consultation about a digital euro said their priority was for payments to remain “a private matter”, reflecting the deep attachment of many Europeans to the anonymity of cash.
The responses prompted calls for the digital euro — which the ECB defines as central bank money available digitally to all parties — to have cash-like features that would permit offline use without internet access. The ECB’s consultation of citizens and professional groups is part of its work to build support for its efforts to keep up with the rapidly changing world of digital currencies and payments.
It will announce by the middle of this year whether it will press ahead with preparations for launching its own digital currency. Fabio Panetta, an ECB executive board member, told MEPs on Wednesday that the currency could be ready to launch in about five years. “Electronic payments are becoming increasingly popular, so a digital euro would ensure that sovereign money — a public good that central banks have been offering to citizens for centuries — remains available in the digital era,” he said.
“A digital euro would not mean the end of cash. It would complement cash, not replace it.” In much of Europe, cash is still used for the majority of payments in shops and cafés, and the ECB consultation revealed a suspicion that a digital euro could open the door for companies to profit from people’s payments data and for governments to spy on their financial activity....
more at FT