Digital euro to complement cash, Banca d'Italia builds core platform

Chiara Scotti, Deputy Director General of Banca d'Italia, outlined the digital euro's core characteristics, emphasizing its role as a complement to physical cash.

It is designed to be simple, reliable, inclusive, free for basic services, and usable across the entire euro area, both online and offline.

Scotti highlighted its systemic resilience and accessibility for people with disabilities, noting a collaboration with Fundación Once to ensure universal usability.

The digital euro will feature a Digital Euro Access Number (DEAN), akin to an IBAN, allowing citizens to switch payment service providers while retaining their digital euro account.

This promotes competition and protects consumer choice.

Scotti stressed that the digital euro, issued by the European Central Bank, is fundamentally different from stablecoins and crypto-assets, which she categorised as high-risk investment tools, not money.

Banca d'Italia will play a leading role in the digital euro's development, as one of six Eurosystem central banks building the Digital Euro Service Platform (DESP).

Scotti emphasized the DESP as the 'beating heart' of the infrastructure, crucial for secure, definitive, and real-time settlement of every digital euro payment.

Banca d'Italia's prominent role stems from over two decades of experience in managing payment infrastructures for the Eurosystem.

Scotti also clarified misconceptions about crypto-assets, stating they 'are not money but a high-risk investment tool.'

She distinguished the digital euro from stablecoins, explaining that stablecoins are privately issued, whereas the digital euro is central bank money issued by the ECB.