Nowadays, central banks are entrusted with the fundamental task of providing citizens with costless access to simple, secure and risk-free means of payment that can be used on a large scale. Delivering on this task requires central banks to analyse relevant developments in society and adapt accordingly. In order to be able to give Europeans easy access to a safe form of central bank money in a society that is moving increasingly quickly towards digital payments, the ECB’s Governing Council has decided to advance work on the possible issuance of a digital euro. Should the need arise, we want to be ready to introduce a digital euro: a form of central bank money that would complement cash, not replace it. Together, these two types of money would be accessible to all, offering greater choice and easier access to ways of paying. After publishing our report on a digital euro on 2 October, we are now in a phase of listening and experimentation. Our exchange today is a key step in this phase and marks the launch of the ECB’s public consultation.6 I will come back to this consultation in a moment. But first I will outline the characteristics of a digital euro, as well as the advantages and the challenges it could present. I will also discuss some scenarios that could require the ECB to issue a digital euro. What is a digital euro?
We already have an array of choices when it comes to retail payments: central bank money in the form of cash, commercial bank money – for example, digital bank deposits – and non-bank digital money (such as payment cards). What we do not have is a digital currency that is issued by the central bank and that we can use for all our daily transactions, including in e-commerce. A digital euro would fill this gap: it would be an electronic form of central bank money accessible to all citizens and firms – in other words, a digital equivalent of euro banknotes. It would provide 1/4  BIS central bankers' speeches  costless access to a simple, risk-free and trusted digital means of payment, accepted throughout the euro area. In the digital era, it would preserve the public good that the euro provides to European citizens. Compared with existing means of digital payments, a digital euro would provide added value in several ways. First of all, it could be used for payments anywhere, by anyone and at any time – just like cash in the physical world. Second, it would bring simplicity: a digital euro should be designed to be easy to understand, easy to use and easy to transfer. Regardless of its features or the technology it would be based on, people from all groups in society should be able to use it in their daily lives.