Bank of Spain welcomes ‘digital euro’, explains benefits

Spain's central bank Banco de España has joined the chorus of European banking institutions preparing their customers for the benefits of the digital euro. The central bank published a brief on October 19 outlining the nature and uses of the EU's potential central bank digital currency (CBDC).

The bank said that the physical cash format “does not allow us to take advantage of all the benefits that the growing digitalization of the economy and society offers.” However, the digital euro makes electronic payments an integral part of the financial system.

The authors highlight offline payments with the digital euro, emphasizing a level of privacy equal to cash. They also ordered that users' data in the online form is still only visible to their financial institutions and CBCC's infrastructure provider, Eurosystem.

Related: EU data protection regulators urge anonymity for small transactions with digital euro

According to the project calendar published in the article, the current “preparation phase” started on October 18 and will be completed in 2025. However, a final decision on the issuance of a pan-EU CBDC has not yet been made.

The Bank of Finland recently expressed its sentiment towards the digital euro. Board member Tuomas Välimäki called it “the most current project” in the European payments sector.

On October 25, the European Central Bank (ECB) shared a link to a landing page with basic information about the digital euro. He promised to save a “simpler life” and a “greater Europe”.

In early October, the Governing Council of the ECB announced the start of the “preparatory phase” for the digital euro project. It will last for two years and will focus on finalizing regulations for digital currency and selecting potential issuers.

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