The Digital Euro Project Enters the Final Phase of Development

The Digital Euro Project Enters the Final Phase of Development

The European Central Bank's (ECB) executive board member, Fabio Panetta, has announced the final phase of the digital euro project. Panetta stated to the committee on economic and monetary affairs of the European Parliament that the digital euro project has entered the final phase of development, and would be focused on making payments easier for Europeans on approval.

Focus on Digital Euro Payments

Fabio Panetta, a member of the executive board of the European Central Bank, has announced that the digital euro project, an initiative for digitizing the fiat currency of Europe, has reached the final stages of testing and development, and one of the primary goals of the project is its establishment as a universal payment method.

In an introductory statement given on April 24 to the committee on economic and monetary affairs of the European Parliament, Panetta explained that there was no single digital means of payment across the European Union. Panetta stated:

"We have been investigating the technical solutions that would enable people to easily make payments in digital euros anywhere in the euro area."

Panetta has declared that the digital euro can be given legal tender status by legislators, making it obligatory for all merchants to accept digital payments. Similarly, it would allow banks and payment processors to reduce their reliance on other service providers and lay the foundation for a "truly European" new platform.

Digital Euro "Key" to European Payment Autonomy

The importance of the project for the structure of payments in Europe has been previously explained by ECB President Christine Lagarde when she stated that the digital euro was "key" to European payment autonomy. Lagarde then emphasized that many of the payment alternatives used by Europeans, like applications and cards, were not necessarily based in Europe.

Panetta also spoke on the ideal requirements for the digital euro if it were launched, stating:

"People should be able to pay and be paid in digital euro anywhere in the euro area, no matter which intermediary they are using to access the digital euro or which country they are in."

Panetta stated that the next phase of the project would include the development and testing of technical solutions to the digital euro and working with the European Commission on legislative proposals.

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