A digital euro could be made available via existing banking apps or via a dedicated Eurosystem app, according to the ECB's latest progress report on the project.
While a final decision on issuing a digital euro has yet to be made, the ECB has been busy investigating options ahead of a potential launch, which would come in 2026 at the earliest.
In its initial releases, a digital euro would be accessible to euro area residents, merchants and governments. Non-resident euro area citizens might also have access, provided that they held an account with a euro area-based payment services provider.
In further releases, consumers from selected third countries could also have access, while the progress report also anticipates the potential provision of cross-currency functionalities with other CBDCs.
The digital euro could be made available to via existing banking apps or via an app provided by the Eurosystem offering a harmonised entry point for basic payment functionalities provided by PSPs.
Banks would be required to provide a set of mandatory core services to end-users but could offer additional options such as conditional payments or the ability to split person-to-person payments among multiple parties.
P2P payments are seen as an essential feature by residents, according to focus groups carried out by the ECB in every euro area country.
Offline payments, are also deemed a useful feature when, for example, someone has limited connectivity. Participants also value budget management tools and conditional payments, including payment on delivery and pay-per-use.
Read the full progress report:
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