German banks have submitted a position paper where they made arguments for digital euro.
On October 30th, in a paper by the Association of German Banks (Bankenverband), which represents more than 200 private commercial banks and eleven member associations, banks stated that the “economy needs a programmable digital euro.”
According to the paper, the responsibility for the monetary system lies with sovereign nation-states and that any currency provided by banks or private companies must fit into a state-determined system. The paper states “Anything else would ultimately lead to chaos and instability,”
The banks are going for cryptography-based digital euro which according to them should be created on the condition that a concurrent, common, pan-European payments platform is also established. They added:
“The user of a digital euro – whether man or machine – must be clearly identifiable. This requires a European or, better still, a global identity standard. With every form of digital money, customers should be identified using a standard that is just as strict as that which banks and other obligated entities are required to apply under current legal framework pursuing the combat against money laundering and terrorist financing.”
According to Bankenverband, a competitive payment system should be based on a common standard and a common currency. It stated, “In order to maintain Europe’s competitiveness, satisfy customers’ needs and reduce transaction costs, the introduction of euro-based, programmable digital money should be considered.”