According to research by the Central Bank of the Netherlands, about half of Dutch citizens find the idea of a digital Euro appealing. The nation’s financial authority, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB,) found that 49% of the population would be interested in holding, and transacting via a digitized version of the Euro currency – in addition to concluding that a digital Euro could be a reliable payment alternative.
The DNB’s study uncovered that a good number of Dutch citizens would welcome a central bank issued digital Euro, even though they reported being quite satisfied with existing payment frameworks. The 14% respondents to the survey – predominantly males, aged 35, who were educated urban dwellers – claimed that they would be willing to hold about £101-£500 worth of their funds in a digital Euro.
The financial authority also found that familiarity may play some role in people’s willingness to use a central bank issued digital currency. 13% of the focus group actually knew what CBDC’s were, while 33% had heard of the concept, but weren’t very sure what it meant.
The Dutch populace’s openness to holding a digital Euro in a DNB current account however, is on the condition of privacy and security – naturally. Protection from the risk of theft, or the loss of valuable personal data are top of mind for citizens of the Netherlands. The DNB’s findings, it turns out, are congruent with the results of a similar study, conducted by the European Central Bank.
Citizens of the Netherlands’ strong willingness to adopt a central bank currency, also stems from the view that a digital Euro would be useful, as it wouldn’t be issued by a for-profit organization, like a commercial bank. This, according to the DNB, means that a digital Euro would be a reliable complement to legacy payment systems.
Are CBDC’s The Future of Fiat Currency
There appears to be a global push, by Central Banks, towards issuing Central Bank Issued Digital Currencies (CBDC’s,) although many projects are still in the research phase. CBDC pilots by territories such as China, and the Bahamas seem to have encouraged more nations to join the CBDC arms race. The Bank of International Settlements (BIS) recently noted this, and has committed to contributing to the global think tank around the issuance of Central Bank-issued digital assets.
“A major move to introduce central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) could actually disrupt the financial system,” stated Chetan Ahya, chief economist at Morgan Stanley, said in a report for clients. “Efforts to introduce CBDCs are gaining momentum, with as many as 86% of the world’s central banks exploring digital currencies.”
The World Bank and International Monetary Fund are of the opinion that the issuance of CBDC’s would go a long way toward alleviating the effects of poverty, as much of the unbanned world would, then, have simpler access to the financial system. Global remittance, thanks to digitized fiat currencies, would be a more seamless, and expedient affair, according to the organization, which would be useful for the provision of financial aid, like social welfare.
“New forms of digital money could provide a parallel boost to the vital lifelines that remittances provide to the poor and to developing economies,” opined Kristalina Georgieva, managing director at the International Monetary Fund, at a joint meeting with the World Bank. “The biggest beneficiaries would be vulnerable people sending small value remittances: those most at risk from being left behind by the pandemic.”
