For the digital euro to be a success and to bring onboard as many citizens as possible, Renew will push for a digital euro that preserves the option of privacy for retail payments, the availability of cash, and provides EU citizens with an additional value beyond what is already offered by existing digital payment services. In this regard, Renew underlines the importance of offering the digital euro as an alternative means of payments. This digital banknote would not be a physical cash replacement. It should imitate as much as possible the features of cash for payments conducted in a digital fashion. As such, Renew Europe advocates for a digital euro that is available for use by the public everywhere and anytime, and calls for a token-based design that enables the option of offline payments to ensure anonymity. The digital euro can actively contribute to the strength of the euro as a global reserve currency and reinforce our monetary sovereignty.
Preventing the digital euro from having any potential negative influence on deposit levels and banks' capacity to lend is also key to Renew Europe, as financial stability depends heavily on bank deposits. Moreover, Renew Europe believes that relevant intermediaries (such as banks, e-money and payment institutions) should be involved in its distribution.
Renew deems it important to avoid any exclusion of EU Member States that are not members of the Eurozone, while carefully assessing the potential impact of a digital euro on their financial stability.
Overall, Renew deems the digital euro an ambitious project that should preserve public money as a monetary anchor, strengthen Europe’s strategic autonomy in the payments’ sector and promote financial inclusion.