Digital euro settlement, distribution options detailed in latest progress report

Progress continues connected the instauration of a integer euro, and the European Central Bank (ECB) has documented it successful a 2nd advancement study that described plan and organisation options precocious approved by its governing council. The study considered 4 important issues, astir successful keeping with the timeline the ECB acceptable for itself that tentatively culminates successful a determination connected whether to modulation from the probe to the realization signifier of enactment successful Q3 2023.

The study outlined the roles of the Eurosystem and intermediaries and established that supervised intermediaries would beryllium liable for each absorption and user-facing roles successful the system. The cardinal banks that marque up the Eurosystem would verify and grounds transactions, close errors successful that process and carnivore work for their accuracy. Nonetheless, “the integer euro would beryllium designed truthful that it minimised Eurosystem engagement successful the processing of idiosyncratic data,” the study stated.

Offline peer-to-peer transactions with validated integer euros could beryllium settled successful a integer retention instrumentality and aboriginal “verified and recorded done unafraid elements successful hardware devices.”

In January 2023, the @ecb volition invitation marketplace participants to instrumentality portion successful marketplace probe to get an overview of options for the method plan of imaginable integer euro components and services #CBDC https://t.co/c2GIL5Mapg

— Central Bank Payments News (@cbpaymentsnews) December 16, 2022

The ECB is not committed to blockchain technology, the study noted:

“The Eurosystem could trust connected either accepted technology, distributed ledger exertion oregon a operation of some for colony activities. The Eurosystem has not yet taken a determination connected the exertion that would beryllium champion suited for a integer euro.”

Funding and defunding (converting wealth to and from integer form) should see mechanisms to grip transactions that transcend limits acceptable connected integer currency accounts with automatic entree to holders’ slope accounts.

Related: European Central Bank chooses Amazon and 4 different firms to prototype integer euro app

A acceptable of pan-euro rules, standards and procedures forming a “scheme” would beryllium indispensable for the equitable organisation of the integer euro, the study stated. The extremity of the strategy volition beryllium that:

“Paying successful integer euro should ever beryllium an option, irrespective of the entity with which extremity users unfastened integer euro accounts oregon wallets and of their state of origin.”

The ECB published its archetypal integer euro advancement report successful September, aft a twelvemonth of work.