The European Central Bank (ECB) announced the members of the Digital Euro Market Advisory Group in a press release earlier this week.
The group includes 30 senior business professionals with vast experience in the financial field. They will begin their meetings in November 2021 and will advise on the development and distribution of the digital euro.
“I am pleased that many high-quality experts from the private sector are willing to contribute to the digital euro project. Their expertise will facilitate the integration of prospective users’ and distributors’ views on a digital euro during the investigation phase.”
ECB Board Member Fabio Panetta, Chair of the High-Level Task Force.
Meetings will be held monthly and the group will report to the Euro Retail Payments Board.
“The issues identified will also be considered in the Eurosystem’s established forum for institutional dialogue on retail payments, the Euro Retail Payments Board (ERPB). The ERPB consists of high-level representatives of industry associations and represents a wide range of stakeholders.”
Back in July, the European Central Bank (ECB) disclosed its plans. On its official website, it announced the start of exploring the possibility of launching its own CBDC. The first phase of the project was said to involve a broad investigation. The latter will last 24 months.
After a preliminary experimentation period, no obstacles were encountered. So, the European Central Bank wants to create in the future a digital euro based on users’ preferences. It also expects businesses and merchants to make their own technical suggestions.
“It has been nine months since we published our report on a digital euro. In that time, we have carried out further analysis, sought input from citizens and professionals, and conducted some experiments with encouraging results. All of this has led us to decide to move up a gear and start the digital euro project. Our work aims to ensure that in the digital age citizens and firms continue to have access to the safest form of money, central bank money.”
