A recent report has discovered that 50% of respondents in a survey conducted in Germany can envision utilizing a digital euro as an extra payment choice. However, the study also disclosed that approximately 75% of participants consider privacy to be a crucial factor when it comes to using the digital euro.
The Deutsche Bundesbank commissioned a survey study, which involved 2,012 German residents, and found that many Germans are receptive to the concept of the digital euro. The research revealed that half of the respondents could "generally imagine using a digital euro as an additional payment option." This inclination applies even to Germans who were previously unaware of the digital euro.
The study exposed that 41% of participants had some knowledge about the digital euro, either through hearing, reading, or seeing information about it, while 59% lacked awareness of its existence. Nevertheless, most respondents expressed concerns about privacy.
"More than three-quarters of respondents rated the aspect of privacy in connection with the use of the digital euro as very important or important. Among those surveyed, 59% indicated that the planned offline version of the digital euro, which aims to provide a level of privacy protection similar to that of physical cash, was very important or important," stated the study report.
Privacy concerns were highlighted by the respondents. However, Joachim Nagel, the President of the Bundesbank, claimed that Eurosystem central banks have no interest in users' data. Nagel further added that the digital currency of the eurozone would safeguard individuals' privacy far more effectively than current commercial payment solutions.
The study also uncovered that a portion of respondents (15%) believed that the digital euro was intended to replace physical cash, while 12% thought that cash would be eliminated once the digital euro became operational. Only 17% were aware that the digital currency would serve as "an additional means of payment and will be issued by the ECB [European Central Bank] or the Bundesbank." Additionally, 16% of the participants believed the digital euro to be a cryptocurrency.
According to a press release, the Eurosystem, which is the monetary authority of the euro area, will be able to determine the introduction of the digital euro only after EU lawmakers establish the necessary legal foundation.
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