integrity of the european payments system. digital euro the eurosystem ’ s work on a digital euro is an insight into the future of retail payments. a digital euro would make digital central bank money accessible to everyone. it would provide access to a simple, costless, risk - free and trusted digital means of payment that is accepted throughout the euro area. the possible issuance of a digital euro alongside cash would be driven by the same objectives i have already outlined : responding to evolving consumer preferences, fostering a competitive payments market and preserving european autonomy. a digital euro would both shape and promote the digitalisation of payments, in turn supporting the digitalisation and modernisation of the european economy. if properly designed, it would allow banks to build new business models and offer their customers cheaper and innovative services. it would increase privacy in digital payments thanks to the involvement of the central bank, which – unlike private suppliers of payment services – has no commercial interests related to consumer data. a digital euro could become necessary in a number of scenarios. for example, if people would become reluctant to use cash, if other electronic payment methods could become unavailable owing to natural disasters, or if foreign digital means of payments threatened to largely displace domestic money. but introducing a digital euro could pose challenges. some are technical, such as cyber risks and the protection of privacy. others are related to the possible impact on the activity of banks, on financial stability and on monetary policy. a properly designed digital euro would need to address such risks. we have started to explore appropriate strategies, for example in relation to the remuneration of digital euro holdings [ 14 ] and the protection of privacy. as the issuer of our currency, the eurosystem is carefully examining the economic, technological, societal and strategic implications of the possible issuance of a digital euro. we have recently published our report on a digital euro, and started a public consultation. [ 16 ] we will carefully examine the feedback we receive, so that if and when developments around us make it necessary, we will be ready to issue a digital euro that meets the needs of europeans. conclusion european authorities must be attentive and ready to respond to the ongoing transformation of the european payments landscape. they must ensure that digital payments are underpinned by a competitive and innovative market capable of meeting consumer demand, while preserving european sovereignty. to reach these objectives, the eurosystem has set out a comprehensive strategy based on complementary elements, which range from the provision of cash

funds immediately – as the payment is completed – and in central bank money, eliminating any financial risk for either the payer or the payee. in 2018 the eurosystem introduced a powerful platform for the continuous settlement of instant payments ( target instant payment settlement, or tips ), putting the euro area at the forefront of retail payments. [ 12 ] in order to make instant payments available to everyone in europe, we have recently taken important steps to ensure paneuropean instant payments by the end of 2021 via tips. we have also updated our retail payments strategy to embrace the objective of fostering competition and an innovative european ecosystem for payments. this includes actively supporting european fintech companies and promoting the use of pan - european harmonised electronic identity and signature systems in retail payments. we are cooperating closely with the european commission. in fact, the european commission ’ s “ retail payments strategy for the eu ” complements our own strategy by setting the stage for european legislation to contribute to objectives we share, such as making instant payments the new normal and making crossborder payments easier, faster and cheaper. oversight https : / / www. ecb. europa. eu / press / key / date / 2020 / html / ecb. sp201022 ~ d66111be97. en. html 3 / 6 22 / 10 / 2020 on the edge of a new frontier : european payments in the digital age at the root of our oversight activity lies the principle of “ same business, same risks, same requirements ”. our new oversight framework for electronic payment instruments, schemes and arrangements ( pisa ) will be released for public consultation in the coming weeks and will extend this approach to all relevant actors in the payments market, including the big tech firms. a properly designed oversight framework is necessary to guarantee competition and innovation in the payments market, while limiting the risks that new products and new players may generate. to avoid regulatory arbitrage and ensure a level playing field, it is critical that issuers and service providers of significant stablecoins are also regulated, supervised and overseen at european level. the european commission ’ s legislative proposals on crypto - assets ( mica ) are an important step in this regard. together with its proposal on digital operational resilience ( dora ) and our revised oversight framework, they will address the broader risks and threats posed by new products and players. if new, potentially systemic products are introduced before these regulatory and oversight initiatives are completed, this could endanger the