2023-10-11 16:11:00
“There is no apparent benefit from the digital euro, the costs are high and the risk is great.” Peter Bofinger, professor of economics at the University of Würzburg, said this at a press conference yesterday.
The economist prepared a report on behalf of the federal banking and insurance division and came to the conclusion that the considerations for the digital euro were “not yet very mature”.
As reported, the European Central Bank (ECB) wants to introduce the digital euro as a means of payment from 2028. The aim is to break the dominance of the US payment service providers Visa, Mastercard and Paypal, which dominate the market for digital payments in Europe.
With the digital euro, the ECB wants to create a central bank account for everyone, i.e. a kind of digital cash. Consumers might store it directly in their digital wallet. This means that the money would belong to the holders – in contrast to the so-called bank money in the bank account, which only represents a claim once morest the bank. The money would then be safe from bank failures.
Bofinger points out that deposits of up to 100,000 euros are already secured across the EU. For consumers, the digital euro is “as unattractive as non-alcoholic wine,” said the economist. With wine you value the alcohol, with cash you value physical availability.
Brunner: “No obligation”
Erste boss Willibald Cernko, federal chairman of the banking and insurance division, and Finance Minister Magnus Brunner also expressed skepticism regarding the digital euro. Many questions are open. Brunner: “We support the Commission’s goal of strengthening the role of the euro, but are once morest Austrians being obliged to use the digital euro.” Privacy and data protection would be a priority.
Author
Martin Roithner
Economics editor
Martin Roithner
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