remain unknown to anyone but the user. the union legislator will be responsible for ensuring this is enabled in relevant legislation. 20. a euro area app with a homogeneous look and feel would facilitate a standardised approach to connecting end users to intermediaries. the app would enable the initiation of payments by intermediaries for the prioritised use cases. the underlying objective behind making such an app available is to provide the market with the minimum required development, ensuring that intermediaries – including smaller ones who may not want to bear the investment costs of setting up their own payment interface – keep their roles in digital euro distribution. at the same time, the app would respond to the preferences of certain end users who have called for an independent access channel in which basic functionalities are available, as expressed by consumer ’ s associations and market surveys. see, for instance, the feedback provided by consumer associations on the 4th erpb technical session on digital euro. the dual approach of an integrated option plus a digital euro app would yield the best results in terms of providing value for end users, as they would have greater choice. this also applies to intermediaries, since they would be able to build their integrated solutions and attract customers through value - added services, whilst overall ensuring a speedy time to market for the digital euro. it would also strengthen the position of the digital euro as a payment solution that provides support for the monetary anchor policy objective and pan - euro area reach. 21. in terms of technological options for payment initiation, the ecb has considered specific ideas to address the prioritised use cases, whilst also following the key objectives for the digital euro. the ecb would prioritise the use of qr codes for all use cases ( peer - to - peer, e - commerce and point - of - sale ), “ alias / proxy ” functionality for peer - to - peer and e - commerce ( including app - to - app redirection ) and nfc ( near - field communication ) for the point of sale. 22. as communicated in a letter to ms irene tinagli, the ecb appointed a rulebook manager in december 2022. the ecb also published a call for market participants to join the rulebook development group in january 2023. the aim of the group is to support the drafting of a scheme rulebook, obtain market input and gain an industry perspective. 23. panetta, f. ( 2022 ), “ building on our strengths : the role

speech the digital euro : our money wherever, whenever we need it introductory statement by fabio panetta, member of the executive board of the ecb, at the committee on economic and monetary affairs of the european parliament brussels, 23 january 2023 our investigation into a digital euro started more than a year ago. closely involving the european parliament in the investigation phase has been a priority for the ecb from day one. over the course of 2022, we regularly discussed key design options in this committee. [ 1 ] your views provided valuable input to our work and, together with the feedback from other public and private stakeholders [ 2 ], allowed us to make steady progress. such interactions are essential in ensuring that public money addresses the preferences and needs of citizens and businesses in an ever - evolving digital landscape. people ’ s payment behaviour is changing at an unprecedented speed : over the past three years, cash payments in the euro area have dropped from 72 % to 59 %, with digital payments becoming increasingly popular ( chart 1 ). [ 3 ] in the netherlands and finland, for example, cash is used only in one fifth of the transactions. at the same time, people appreciate the option to pay with public money. most see it as important or very important to always have that choice. chart 1 : digital payments further on the rise but cash remains an important option source : study on the payment attitudes of consumers in the euro area ( space ). a digital euro would respond to this growing preference for electronic payments by making public money available also in digital form. together with cash, a digital euro would offer europeans access to means of payment that allow them to pay everywhere in the euro area, free of charge. being easily accessible and convenient to use would support adoption and financial inclusion. in my remarks today i will discuss how the digital euro could help enable us to use our money whenever, wherever we need it throughout the euro area. i will conclude my remarks with the work agenda for 2023, when we will conclude our investigation phase and the european commission will present its legislative proposal. a convenient digital payment solution, giving people control over their money the ecb is at the global forefront of the efforts by central banks to design state - of - the - art digital payment solutions for both retail and wholesale transactions. payments are part and parcel of everyday life : we all usually carry at least one payment instrument, be it coins, banknotes, a credit card or a mobile phone. our priority for the digital euro project has