Digital Euro Germany
The digital euro in Germany concerns a proposed digital form of central bank money for everyday payments. People and businesses would be able to use it for purchases in shops, online payments and transfers to other people. The proposal would provide a public payment instrument alongside cash, with the same euro value and access through banks or other payment providers.
The digital euro would be issued by the Eurosystem, with providers managing individual customer relationships. The Deutsche Bundesbank participates in the preparation together with the European Central Bank and other euro-area central banks. Introduction depends on European legislation and a subsequent decision on issuance, so the proposal is not an available payment service.
What banks and merchants would do
The ECB says supervised intermediaries would provide wallets and payment services. A linked bank account could cover a payment above the wallet balance. Merchants that accept digital payments would generally have to accept the digital euro under the proposed rules. Implementation costs, compensation and a holding limit remain practical questions for banks.
Pilot before issuance
The ECB is preparing a pilot for selected payment providers and merchants. A pilot is a test, not a launch for every customer. The ECB says it will decide whether to issue the digital euro only after the legislation is adopted. The ECB and Bundesbank work on the project in Frankfurt.
Digital euro discussions at Finance Loop
Finance Loop is a meeting place for payments specialists and banks discussing public and private digital money. The Finance Loop partner Digital Euro Association runs the Digital Euro Conference. Learn more about the basic design of the proposed digital euro.
Digital money events
Digital Euro in Germany and Finance Loop
Finance Loop is a partner of the Digital Euro Association and links its digital-money discussions to the Digital Euro Conference. Banks and payment providers can meet the people working on wallets, merchant acceptance and regulation at Finance Loop events.
Finance Loop is a professional network for new technologies in finance.