As several countries around the world justle to put roll out a national digital currency, the Italian banking association has declared support for an EU digital currency. The association made their stance known in a post on their website, which outlined the protocols of managing digital currencies.
The association, which consist of several banks in Italy, stated that they are willing to support any programme that will aid the realisation of a regional digital currency. As it is with central bank digital currencies, implementation is usually done in phases and assessed through various pilots schemes. This happens because CBDC would affect monetary policies directly when implemented, unlike other digital currencies that are not tied to specific countries.
Amongst other things, one of the benefits cited by the association for the creation of an EU digital currency is the improved speed of cross border P2P transactions. This benefit is possible because digital currencies do not require an intermediary to process a transaction. Consequently, individuals can easily send money across member states without incurring extra charges, which will aid the development of small scale businesses.
The association also believes that the creation of a regional digital currency, will satisfy the thirst of crypto enthusiasts within the region, and hence, reduce the demand of digital currencies that are issued by private companies.
The Italian Banking Association will not be the first group in the EU region that is supporting the cause of a CBDC. The Netherlands had also stated that they would be willing to support any pilot programme involved in rolling out an EU CBDC.
Source: Cointelegraph
