While discussions on the regulatory framework for a future digital euro could accelerate following the partial political agreement reached by the Eurogroup on Friday 19 September (see EUROPE 13713/7), the representative of the European retail and wholesale sector, EuroCommerce, and the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) have issued a series of respective recommendations.
According to a survey of more than 10,000 consumers across ten euro area countries, BEUC stresses that the digital euro will only be attractive if it meets three key expectations of European citizens: security and reliability (55% of respondents), ease of use (53%) and being free of charge (49%). In addition, consumers are demanding a clear right to reimbursement in the event of fraud, protection of privacy and universal acceptance.
“A digital euro will be attractive to consumers if it is easy to use, (...) provides a strong protection against fraud (...) and if basic services such as a payment card is offered for free”, said BEUC Director General Agustín Reyna in a press release on Thursday 25 September. The organisation also reiterates the importance of maintaining widespread acceptance of cash, supported by 85% of those surveyed.
For its part, EuroCommerce emphasises the need to design the digital euro as an instrument to reduce costs for merchants and strengthen Europe’s strategic autonomy.
“We need the digital euro to ensure our customers can continue buying their daily groceries, fuel, medicine and more - without inflated costs or external dependencies”, said EuroCommerce Managing Director Christel Delberghe at a Bundesbank event.
In a working document published on Wednesday 24 September, the organisation recommends, among other things, a uniform cap of 4 cents per transaction on merchant service charges, an offline wallet functionality to encourage consumer adoption, and a gradual roll-out focusing on in-store and online payments. EuroCommerce is also calling for a “single open standardised” European payments infrastructure, which would facilitate integration and stimulate competition.
See the detailed BEUC survey: https://aeur.eu/f/im4
See the EuroCommerce working document: https://aeur.eu/f/im5 (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)