|
The sudden proliferation of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin,
essentially a privately created online token, has sparked a
global debate over whether central banks should also launch
their own digital money.
This would give holders a direct claim on the central bank,
bypassing the banking system and potentially revolutionizing the
way monetary policy is carried out.
Sweden's Riksbank is exploring whether to issue an electronic
version of its currency, called e-krona, to respond to the
dwindling use of banknotes and a rise in electronic payments in
that country.
But ECB President Mario Draghi said the time was not ripe for
such a change in the euro zone.
"The ECB and the Eurosystem currently have no plans to issue a
central bank digital currency," he said in a letter to a member
of the European Parliament.
He added that technologies such as distributed ledgers "require
substantial further development" and that he saw no "concrete
need" to issue a digital euro.
Cash accounted for 79 percent of all payments at point of sale
in the euro zone in 2016 and for 54 percent of the total value
of those transactions, according to ECB research.
Separate ECB data published on Friday showed non-cash payments
were growing, however, with a 7.9 percent annual increase in
2017 led by cards.
(Reporting By Francesco Canepa; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
[© 2018 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2018 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
 |
|
