Nødgaard: Digital payments need resilience, sovereignty
Danmarks Nationalbank Governor Ulrik Nødgaard emphasized the critical need for sovereignty and resilience in digital payment systems. Speaking at the Point Zero Forum, Nødgaard highlighted the role of national card schemes, offline capabilities, and instant payments in safeguarding financial stability.
Danes embrace digital, demand robust systems
Governor Ulrik Nødgaard highlighted that 91 percent of total revenue in Danish physical stores comes from digital payments, underscoring the critical need for robust systems.
National card schemes, such as Dankort, significantly contribute to resilience by providing an independent alternative if other schemes face disruptions; the number of national schemes in the EU has fallen from 16 to 9 since 2013.
Denmark has also implemented offline card payment capabilities with Dankort, Mastercard, and Visa in over 2,000 grocery stores, with pharmacies to be added in September.
This contingency ensures basic consumption for at least one week during outages.
Instant payments, using account-to-account transfers, offer an alternative infrastructure to card-based systems.
A broader rollout in physical commerce, potentially through NFC technology and initiatives like EuroPA, would further enhance overall payment resilience, as evidenced by increased usage during a May 2026 card system disruption.
Stablecoins, DLT, and the digital euro
Nødgaard addressed new types of money, including stablecoins, primarily used for crypto-asset trading.
While they may gain broader functions in a tokenised economy, their role in Danish retail payments appears unlikely given existing solutions.
Danmarks Nationalbank is exploring new DLT-based infrastructure with the ECB.
Project Pontes aims to link DLT markets to central bank infrastructure, launching in Q3 2026 with enhanced functionality from 2028.
Project Appia is analyzing a future European DLT ecosystem with central bank money at its core, with blueprints expected in 2028.
A retail CBDC, like the digital euro, could support resilience and sovereignty.
Denmark, however, currently sees no clear domestic use-case given its existing payment solutions, though the digital euro's rollout could give rise to new use-cases like offline solutions.
Proactive steps for a digital future
Nødgaard's speech highlights Denmark's pragmatic approach to digital payment evolution, balancing innovation with core principles of resilience and sovereignty.
The focus remains on strengthening existing national solutions and carefully evaluating new technologies against specific domestic needs, despite global trends like stablecoins and DLT.
This ensures the rapid shift to digital payments does not compromise the fundamental stability and accessibility of the financial system.