EU proposes to oblige to accept digital euros for payment
The relevant document will be submitted to the eurozone finance ministers for discussion
13.03.2023 - 15:00
265
2 min
0
Merchants in the eurozone area could be obliged to accept a digital euro if it is deemed to be legal tender, according to a paper set to be put before finance ministers later Monday and seen by CoinDesk.
Giving the central bank digital currency, or CBDC, the same status as banknotes and coins would mean payments legally discharge obligations to pay, and with mandatory acceptance at full face value, the paper said.
Legal tender status “would imply a legal obligation for (certain) payees to accept payments in digital euro … thereby increasing its network effects, and potentially affecting its distribution,” the document read.
The paper also asks ministers "whether exemptions should be considered to ensure proportional application ... balancing the principles of contractual freedom and mandatory acceptance."
At a previous discussion in January, ministers said the digital euro shouldn’t be programmable, because giving the ability to limit how a given payment can be used by the recipient would impair money’s fungible status.
The European Central Bank is set to formally decide whether to issue its currency in digital format in the fall, and officials are working on technical details such as which potential uses to prioritize.
Governments in European Union countries will be involved in agreeing on any legislation needed to underpin the CBDC. Last week, the European Commission's Mairead McGuinness confirmed that a bill due shortly will, alongside legal tender status, examine anti-money-laundering rules and compensation for those distributing the currency.
This material is taken from the website https://www.coindesk.com.
Useful material?
Market
To advance crypto-friendly regulation, Trump’s party needs to win a majority in the Senate
Oct 18, 2024
Incidents
The regulator believes that the court erred in not recognizing retail sales of XRP as securities transactions
Oct 18, 2024
Market
The leader was the Solana network, with 100 million active addresses per month
Oct 17, 2024
Crypto regulations
Amendments to the regulation of financial institutions have been published for public discussion until October 30
Oct 16, 2024
Market
Over the past four years, the company’s shares have grown by 1540%, while the index has gained only 111%
Oct 16, 2024
Incidents
Over the last 24 hours, the asset has updated its all-time high at $2,34
Oct 15, 2024