Several experts from major European banks agreed that even the completion of the proof of concept for the digital euro will take four to five years.
On Monday, at a panel meeting titled “Let the Currency Enter the Digital Era: Introducing the Digital Euro”, the participants agreed that the main task now is to let everyone understand the specifics of the digital euro, and implement it in the future .
Central bank digital currency (CBDC) has been a very hot topic of discussion in recent years, especially since the start of the new crown pneumonia pandemic.
Austėja Šostakaitė of the European Central Bank said that the European Central Bank will not decide whether to launch a digital euro until mid-2021. This contradicts the expectations of the European Central Bank President earlier this month. He expects the European Central Bank to make a decision by January 2021. Now, Šostakaitė says, the question is “how do we introduce the euro into the digital ecosystem, and how does it work with commercial bank currencies?”
Source: Austėja Šostakaitė’s presentation at the panel meeting “Let money enter the digital age: Introducing the digital euro”
Carl Andreas Claussen, an adviser to the Riksbank, said that the Riksbank will complete the proof of concept for the electronic krona in February next year, but he also predicts that the actual launch of the electronic krona will take “four or five years later.” Claussen said:
“There are some legal issues, and we can’t decide when the e-krona will be launched. It is a big issue. We need some political support. We suggest that the Parliament set up an expert committee to consider this issue.”
Sweden is a member of the European Union, but it is not part of the Eurozone, which means that it retains its own currency. As far as the domestic situation is concerned, Sweden is one of the countries with the least cash use in the world, which means that the country has made certain progress in currency digitization.
It is worth noting that Claussen also hinted at the desire to apply the Swedish krona to cross-border payments. Given the relative utility of the euro or the US dollar, the Swedish krona is rarely used for cross-border payments.
Regarding the euro itself, Šostakaitė said that external competition may accelerate its current progress. She said: “If other countries launch CBDC, or Facebook’s Libra enters the euro zone, this may promote the development of the digital euro.”
Facebook’s Libra seems to be launched in January next year as a stable currency pegged to the US dollar.
