Readiness to Use the Digital Euro (CBDC) by Consumers Based on the Example of France and Germany

Robert Huterski, Ewa Zdunek-Rosa

Abstract


Theoretical background: Attempts to offer the users of state money its new digital form with characteristics partially similar to cash and cryptocurrencies led to the creation of the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) concept. In October 2020, the European Central Bank (ECB) published a report on the conditions for building the concept of the digital euro. On January 12, 2021, the ECB completed collecting the opinions of potential users (understood as natural persons) and representatives of companies, institutions, and experts on their expectations for the future digital euro. However, the survey only asked a few questions about the preferred features of the digital euro. The questionnaire form was only available on the website of the ECB, which made the respondents a specific group as only those who were interested in visiting the website replied. Representatives of companies, institutions, and experts also provided answers from the user’s point of view. The questions did not take into account the characteristics of the respondents ensuring the representativeness of the research sample.

Purpose of the article: The article aims to define the relationship between the characteristics of consumers (individual users of money as a product of the central bank) from France and Germany and their acceptance of using the digital euro.

Research methods: The analysis used data from a survey conducted using the CAWI method. The study was conducted in August 2021 on a group of adult internet users representative in terms of gender, age, and place of residence, including 638 German and 646 French respondents (full responses).

Main findings: The results show that in both countries the consumers most willing to accept the digital euro are men rather than women, consumers already taking advantage of the opportunities offered by mobile banking, and consumers who believe that the money entrusted to banks is not safe. However, the differences observed in the example of only these two countries support the conclusion of other researchers about the need to conduct this type of research either in the entire eurozone or in selected eurozone countries with specific payment habits.


Keywords


digital euro; CBDC; technology acceptance; logit model

Full Text:

PDF

References


Abramova, S., Böhme, R., Elsinger, H., Stix, H., & Summer, M. (2023). What can central bank digital currency designers learn from asking potential users? Proceedings of the Nineteenth Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security SOUPS (pp. 151–170). USENIX Association.

Assenmacher, K., Berentsen, A., Brand C., & Lamersdorf N. (2021). A unified framework for CBDC design: remuneration, collateral haircuts and quantity constraints. European Central Bank Working Paper Series, 2578.

Atlantic Council. Central Bank Digital Currency Tracker. (2023). https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/cbdctracker/

Auer, R., Cornelli, G., & Frost, J. (2021). Rise of the central bank digital currencies: Drivers, approaches, and technologies, BIS Working Papers, 880.

Bank for International Settlements. (2020). Central bank digital currencies: Foundational principles and core features. BIS, Innovation Hub Report, 1.

Bindseil, U., Panetta, F., & Terol, I. (2021). Central Bank Digital Currency: Functional scope, pricing and controls. ECB Occasional Paper Series, 286.

BNP Paribas. (2021). A brief history of IT in the banking industry. https://histoire.bnpparibas/en/highlights/a-brief-history-of-it-in-the-banking-industry/

Boar, C., Holden, H. & Wadsworth, A. (2020). Impending arrival – a sequel to the survey on central bank digital currency. BIS Papers, 107.

Carvalho de, F.J.C. (2015). Liquidity Preference and Monetary Economies. Routledge.

Chowdhury, N. (2019). Inside Blockchain, Bitcoin, and Cryptocurrencies. Auerbach Publications.

Corbet, S., Urquhart A., & Yarovaya, L. (2020). Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Technology, Vol. 1. De Gruyter. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110660807

Cramer, J.S. (1999). Predictive performance of the binary logit model in unbalanced samples. The Statistician, 48(1), 85–94. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9884.00173

Didenko, A.N., & Buckley, R.P. (2021). Central Bank Digital Currencies: A Potential Response to the Financial Inclusion Challenges of the Pacific. Issues in Pacific Development, 3. Asian Development Bank.

ECB Crypto-Assets Task Force. (2020). Stablecoins: Implications for monetary policy, financial stability, market infrastructure and payments, and banking supervision in the euro area. ECB Occasional Paper Series, 247.

European Central Bank. (2020). Report on a digital euro. October.

European Central Bank. (2021a). Eurosystem report on the public consultation on a digital euro. April.

European Central Bank. (2021b). Digital euro experimentation scope and key learnings. July.

Fadli, J.A., Hamsal, M., Rahim, R., & Furinto, A. (2023). Investigating the adoption factors of Indonesia’s Central Bank Digital Currency. QUALITY Access to Success, 24(196), 261–267. https://doi.org/10.47750/QAS/24.196.32

Ferrari, M.M., Mehl, A., & Stracca, L. (2020). Central bank digital currency in an open economy. European Central Bank Working Paper Series, 2488.

Fratianni, M., & Von Hagen, J. (2019). European Monetary System and European Monetary Union. Routlege.

Gruszczyński, M. (2021). Modele i prognozy zmiennych jakościowych w finansach i bankowości. SGH.

Hajric, V., & Regan, M.P. (2021). Big Investors with Some $100 Trillion Are Getting Crypto Curious. Bloomberg. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/audio/2021-11-13/big-investors-with-some-100-trillion-are-getting-crypto-curious

Jarvis, C. (2021). Cypherpunk ideology: Objectives, profiles, and influences (1992–1998). Digital Technology, Culture and Society, 6(3) 315–342. https://doi.org/10.1080/24701475.2021.1935547

Kochaniak, K., & Ulman, P. (2020). Risk-intolerant but risk-taking – towards a better understanding of inconsistent survey responses of the euro area households. Sustainability, 12(17), 1–26. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12176912

Kumar, A. (2022). A report card on China’s Central Bank Digital Currency: The e-CNY. Atlantic Council. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/econographics/a-report-card-on-chinas-central-bank-digital-currency-the-e-cny/

Maddala, G.S. (1992). Introduction to Econometrics. Macmillan.

Mehlkop, G., Neumann, R., & von Hermanni, H. (2023). Privacy and the acceptance of centralized digital currencies in the U.S., India and Germany. Nature Scientific Reports, 13(8772), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-35905-y

Mersch, Y. (2017). The role of cash – customer retention and tie to the citizen. European Centarl Bank Interview. https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/inter/date/2017/html/ecb.in170901_1.en.html

Mondello, G., Sinelnikova, E., & Trunin, P. (2020). Macro and Micro Implications of the introduction of Central Bank Digital Currencies: An Overview. GREDEG Working Paper 2020-02. Groupe de REcherche en Droit, Economie, Gestion (GREDEG CNRS). Université Côte d’Azur, France, revised Mar 2020.

OECD. (1998). 21st-Century Technologies. Promises and Perils of a Dynamic Future. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/economics/21st-century-technologies_9789264163539-en

Orji, Ch. (2022). Bitcoin ban: These are the countries where crypto is restricted or illegal. Euronews. https://www.euronews.com/next/2022/08/25/bitcoin-ban-these-are-the-countries-where-crypto-is-restricted-or-illegal2

Panetta, F. (2022). Central bank digital currencies: Defining the problems, designing the solutions. ECB, speech in New York, 18 February 2022. https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/key/date/2022/html/ecb.sp220218_1~938e881b13.en.html

Pfister, Ch. (2019). Central Bank Digital Currency: One, Two or None? Banque de FranceWorking Paper, 732.

Smith, I. (2022). Central Bank Digital Currencies: Which countries are using, launching or piloting CBDCs? https://www.euronews.com/next/2022/03/09/cbdcs-these-are-the-countries-are-using-launching-or-piloting-their-own-digital-currencies

Tronnier, F., Harborth, D., & Biker, P. (2023). Applying the extended attitude formation theory to central bank digital currencies. Electronic Markets, 33(13), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12525-023-00638-3

Ward, O., & Rochemont, S. (2019). Understanding Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC). Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/central-bank-digital-currency-cbdc.asp

Wintermeyer, L. (2021). Institutional money is pouring into the crypto market and its only going to grow. Forbes.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/lawrencewintermeyer/2021/08/12/institutional-money-is-pouring-into-the-crypto-market-and-its-only-going-to-grow/




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17951/h.2024.58.4.67-85
Date of publication: 2024-10-26 13:52:04
Date of submission: 2024-01-17 18:15:51


Statistics


Total abstract view - 165
Downloads (from 2020-06-17) - PDF - 0

Indicators



Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Copyright (c) 2024 Robert Huterski, Ewa Zdunek-Rosa

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.