Ter Weel calls for public money to anchor digital payments
Bas ter Weel of De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) told the CB+DC Conference in Amsterdam that digital money needs a public settlement anchor. The Eurosystem's Pontes platform has gone live with 18 participants, while a digital euro would preserve public access to central bank money.
Eighteen participants cross the bridge
Ter Weel said private money needs convertibility at par and safe settlement in central bank money to remain interchangeable under stress.
Following exploratory work in 2024, the Eurosystem has launched Pontes, linking traditional settlement infrastructure with distributed ledger technology (DLT) platforms.
Its 18 participants comprise 14 market participants and 4 DLT operators; Dutch participants are preparing connections.
Appia explores longer-term arrangements for tokenised assets and money.
DNB and the Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) called for stronger legal foundations in an October 7 brochure.
They will explore solutions with external experts, government ministries and market participants.
Cash recedes, public access matters
Cash accounts for less than 20 percent of Dutch retail payments, reducing the everyday role of central bank money.
Ter Weel gave two reasons for preserving public access: demand for its safety during stress and concentrated digital payment markets dominated by non-European providers.
The digital euro would support privacy, fallback payments and inclusion while leaving room for private innovation.
He also called for interoperability across payment systems and financial markets, supported by legal frameworks, code governance and liquidity backstops.
One euro needs common foundations
Ter Weel places public settlement at the centre of competition between private forms of money.
Pontes extends that foundation to tokenised markets, while the digital euro would preserve it for retail users.
His argument also makes interoperability and legal safeguards prerequisites for avoiding fragmentation.