The European Central Bank (ECB) has released its third progress report on the digital euro's preparation phase, which began on November 1, 2023. This phase is setting the groundwork for potentially issuing a digital euro. Since the last report, the ECB has advanced in drafting a rulebook for the digital euro scheme. This rulebook aims to standardize digital euro payments across the euro area and ensure a user-friendly experience.
Feedback from the Rulebook Development Group, which includes representatives from the European retail payments market, has been instrumental in refining sections of the rulebook. Insights from ECB workstreams involving around 50 market participants and industry experts have also contributed to improvements, particularly in areas like risk and dispute management.
The ECB has increased experimentation and user research efforts to align the digital euro with end-user needs. Through an innovation platform, about 70 market participants have tested features such as conditional payments and explored how to integrate the digital euro into the financial ecosystem. The ECB is also engaging with small merchants, vulnerable consumers, and under-represented groups through focus groups and interviews to understand their needs better. Findings will be shared in the third quarter of 2025.
Stakeholder engagement remains crucial for this project. The ECB is actively reaching out to market participants, merchants, and consumers through various sessions and meetings. A key focus is ensuring that the digital euro complements existing private sector payment solutions within Europe.
As legislative discussions continue, the ECB provides technical expertise to European institutions involved in these deliberations. Updates are also given to euro area finance ministers via the Eurogroup and to the European Parliament.
"We are pleased to see that our efforts remain on track as we keep working to deliver on the request of EU leaders to accelerate progress on a digital euro," said Executive Board member Piero Cipollone, who chairs the High-Level Task Force on a digital euro. "In light of today’s geopolitical and economic challenges, we welcome an ambitious pace for the legislative work."
The project involves collaboration between the ECB, national central banks, market participants, consumer representatives, and policymakers. The ECB is dedicated to providing technical input for legislative discussions while ensuring that the digital euro meets high standards of quality, security, privacy, and usability.
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