Letter from Christine Legarde on the digital euro

The ECB publishes a letter from Christine Legarde to EU Parliamentarian Gunnar Beck. In the letter, Christine Legarde highlights that online and contactless payments have increased in recent years and accelerated during the pandemic. In addition, she points out that cryptocurrencies are not without risk and are therefore an alternative investment product rather than an alternative to the euro. A digital euro would be very different from cryptocurrencies because of the continued high level of trust as with cash, but with a digital euro, people would have an additional choice for their daily payments. Thus, a digital euro would combine the efficiency of a digital payment instrument with the security and trust of central bank money, bringing the benefits of the euro into the digital age for Europeans.

The letter can be accessed at this link.