On April 14, 2021, the European Central Bank published the results of the public consultation on the digital euro. More than 8,000 participants from multiple nations answered the ECB's online questionnaire from October 12, 2020 to January 12, 2021, thus defining their expectations of a digital euro.

With a share of 47 percent, the German participants are particularly well represented in this completely open survey. In relation to the number of inhabitants, Austria was in fourth place out of all participating nations. The majority of the participants were citizens who expressed their opinion on the digital euro as private individuals. 460 participants - including the SBS - can be assigned to a company in a professional environment using the digital euro.

The analysis of the survey shows that the protection of privacy and a high level of security are among the greatest requirements for a digital euro. Over half of the participating citizens want a digital euro that can be used offline. This means that no online connection to a central point should be necessary to carry out payment transactions. Professionals prefer a mixture of online and offline options when using the digital euro.

The majority of participants see a chip card as a technical carrier medium for the digital euro, as it is already used for payment on a card or via mobile phone. In principle, it is proposed that the digital euro should continue to use as many components of the existing technical infrastructure as possible in order to keep the additional infrastructure costs as low as possible.

The ECB would like to decide as early as mid-2021 whether and under what detailed conditions the implementation of the digital euro should take place. According to Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank, the digital euro should then be available to citizens in the euro area within five years.

The full report of the ECB can be downloaded here: Report on the public consultation on a digital euro

Wolfgang Braunwieser, SBS Managing Director

"SBS has been serving the cash supply for three decades and should the ECB decide to introduce the digital euro, as the electronic form of cash, we want to support this in our platforms at an early stage and thus make our contribution to the optimal introduction of the digital euro."