Monitor Prawniczy
no. 9/2024
The digital euro - a new form of money or a pan-European retail payment system
DOI: 10.32027/MOP.24.9.15
Dr. Autor jest adiunktem w Zakładzie Administracyjnego Prawa Gospodarczego i Bankowego Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego; kierownikiem Centrum Regulacji Usług i Technologii Finansowych WPiA UW. Prezes Fundacji na rzecz Innowacji Finansowych Fintech Poland
Abstract
In recent years, central banks around the world have been considering or have already launched issuance of digital currencies, which serve as a digital equivalent of cash. At the same time, other forms of digital money, such as so-called stablecoins issued by private entities and regulated in the EU by the MiCA regulation, are also developing. The digital euro, currently under development by the European Central Bank (ECB) while regulatory work is being conducted at the EU level, aims to enhance the significance of the euro as a legal tender in cashless payments and to support the ECB’s monetary policy. A key challenge is to define the legal framework for issuing the digital euro and its scope, particularly whether the digital euro should only be a digital equivalent of euro cash, or should it also the encompass settlement and clearing infrastructure. Additionally, the impact of the broadly defined digital euro on existing retail payment systems and competition in this market needs to be considered.
Keywords
digital euro, central bank’s digital currency, CBDC, digital assets, MiCA, payment services, payment system
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