the digital sphere is also regarded by some as a marginal issue. and some are even afraid that it might do harm. 5 / 6 bis - central bankers'speeches however, i am convinced that the digital euro will be a success and will deliver benefits to all. it will become a central place in the payments landscape. like the pariser platz in the heart of berlin. carstens, a. ( 2023 ), digital currencies and the soul of money, in : a. dombret, p. s. kenadjian ( eds. ), data, digitalization, decentralized finance and central bank digital currencies, berlin / boston. 2 bindseil, u., p. cipollone and j. schaaf, digital euro : debunking banks'fears about losing deposits, the ecb blog, 19 february 2024. 3 deutsche bundesbank, financial stability review 2023, p. 76 and the subsequent box. 6 / 6 bis - central bankers'speeches

patterns. the eurosystem would not be able to identify people based on the payments they make. we would see only a minimal set of data necessary to fulfil eurosystem tasks, such as settlement. banks and other payment service providers processing digital euro payments would not be allowed to use personal and transaction - related data for commercial purposes – unless users explicitly give their consent for them to do so. they would, however, have limited access to these data to the extent necessary in order for them to comply with anti - money laundering and counter - terrorism financing regulations. offline payments would therefore be limited to low - value transactions. only cash offers a level of privacy comparable to the digital euro. and it won't be going anywhere. the digital euro would be a complement to cash, not a substitute. second, merchants would also benefit from a digital euro. while they would have to compensate intermediaries for their services, legal safeguards should prevent them from being overcharged. the eurosystem would bear its own costs as it does with cash today, and not charge merchants. today, retailers often feel obliged to offer their customers a variety of payment solutions, some of which are quite expensive. the digital euro would increase competition in the payments market. merchants could negotiate lower transaction fees with private payment service providers. another advantage of the digital euro is that merchants would receive payments instantly, by means of instant settlement. just like cash, this would allow goods and money to be exchanged simultaneously. there would be no outstanding claims. that said, some people doubt whether we need a digital euro at all, as there are already enough payment methods available – at the point of sale, for online and for mobile - to - mobile payments. but i am confident that both consumers and retailers would appreciate the benefits of having a single payment instrument that ticks all the boxes – online and offline. and what is more, banks could benefit from it, too. they could make use of a public european infrastructure as a vehicle for innovation, providing creative and new services to their customers. the digital euro is not in competition with the european payments initiative, of which dz bank is a founding shareholder. rather, they complement each other. the planned " wero " wallet, for example, could integrate the digital euro. moreover, it can only be in the banks'interest for europe to reduce its reliance on noneuropean payment infrastructures. europe needs to become more resilient and independent.