MNI BRIEF: Not Issuing Digital Euro Costs Significant -Panetta

The costs of not issuing a digital euro would be “significant” for the Eurozone as it would bring considerable benefits to digital payments that wouldn’t be possible if large technology companies expand into digital finance without a public alternative, Bank of Italy Governor Fabio Panetta said Thursday.

The implementation of the digital euro would bring down costs of digital payment costs as it would offer an alternative payment network to those operated by the dominant card and online payment solution providers, controlled by non-European companies, Panetta told an ECB conference on what was until last month his Frankfurt fiefdom.

The other two benefits of issuing a digital euro would be the preservation of privacy and avoiding the risks to the functioning of the payment system, monetary sovereignty and financial stability that could come from new solutions like companies' payment methods or stable coins.