In order to learn more, the Eurosystem created focus groups to ask various groups in society and smaller merchants what they would expect from such a means of payment. Payers want a solution that:  • has as many areas of application as possible; • is secure and reliable; and • is accepted throughout the euro area and, if possible, beyond.
There are two reasons for this: The first is that an expansionary interest rate policy, i.e., a reduction in the interest rate, tends to have a positive effect, mainly on GDP, and only later does it lead to inflation, and since governments in democracies generally have a short-term horizon, this leads to a preference for interest rate reductions.