Deutsche Bundesbank:

Digital euro still little known according to survey

Digital money as a supplement to cash is intended, among other things, to counter the increasing competition in digital payment transactions from US companies such as Paypal or Apple Pay and the advance of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.

(Bild: ©Sergey Nivens - stock.adobe.com)

According to a Bundesbank survey, knowledge about a future digital euro is not yet widespread among the population. According to the survey, a majority of 59 percent of participants were still unaware of the digital euro, as the Bundesbank announced in Frankfurt on Tuesday. Only 41 percent of participants had already heard, read or seen something about the digital euro.

And according to the Bundesbank, only 17 percent of respondents could correctly state that it is digital money issued by the ECB and the Bundesbank. 2,012 people took part in the representative survey conducted by the opinion research institute Forsa on behalf of the Bundesbank in April.

One in two can imagine using it
Despite the lack of knowledge, half of those surveyed could imagine paying with a digital euro, according to the Bundesbank. The protection of their privacy is particularly important to people. For more than three quarters of participants, privacy is very important or important in connection with the use of the digital euro. Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel explained: "The central banks of the Eurosystem have no interest whatsoever in users' data." With the digital euro, privacy would be much better protected than with today's commercial payment solutions.

One of the aims of digital money as a supplement to cash is to counter the increasing competition in digital payment transactions from US companies such as Paypal or Apple Pay and the advance of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. In the fall, the European Central Bank (ECB) gave the green light for a preparatory phase towards a digital version of the common currency, which is to last until October 2025. During this period, the rules and regulations are to be finalized and providers selected for the development of the platform and infrastructure. According to Bundesbank board member Burkhard Balz, the digital euro will not be available for payment until 2028 at the earliest.

Even among those in the survey who were familiar with the digital currency, there were still many misunderstandings, the Bundesbank explained. For example, 15 percent of this group believe that the digital euro should replace cash. The ECB and the Bundesbank have repeatedly emphasized in the past that cash should not be abolished.