The European Central Bank is inviting technology experts to take part in online technical talks to explore options for the design of a central bank digital currency.
The talks are part of an ongoing CBDC investigation phase instigated by the ECB in July and set to last two years.
The ECB is inviting potential candidates for participation in the debate to address four technical issues:
- Large-scale application of privacy-preserving technologies in retail payments in combination with the traceability of financial transactions. How do such technologies interact with those for user authentication for payment solutions?
- Security of offline payment solutions that are not linked to any external system for conducting consecutive payments. How can we make the top-up process and the use of the secure element more convenient?
- Top-up, funding and defunding of digital wallets or accounts for bearer and account-based payment solutions. How can we make it easier for customers to fund and defund a payment wallet or account, either manually or automatically?
- Impact of limiting (or disincentivising) the hoarding of large sums of money in a payment wallet or account on the usability and uptake of a payment solution, in normal times or during times of financial distress. What do we know about households’ behaviour in this regard?
To join in the project, applicants are asked to state which topic they wish to address and describe in a maximum of 500 words the technical problems and solutions they would like to present.
The talks will be held at expert level as closed sessions with members of the ECB’s digital euro project team. They will each be structured as a 20-minute presentation followed by a question and answer session and last 45 minutes in all. Applications should be mailed to DigitalEuro@ecb.europa.eu by 30 November 2021.
The central bank has additionally named the 30 members of its Digital Euro Advisory group, senior business figures who will help shape decisions on the design and distribution of potential digital euro.
Members of the Digital Euro Market Advisory Group:
- Aleksander Kurtevski, Managing Director, Bankart
- Alessandro De Cristofaro, Director Digital Innovation Strategy, CRIF
- Antonio Macías Vecino, Head of Payments Discipline, BBVA
- Axel Schaefer, Payment Regulation and Innovation Specialist, Ingka Group (IKEA)
- Cristian Cengher, Product Owner Cross Border Payments, Erste Group Bank AG
- Cyril Vignet, Project Manager Innovation, Banque Populaire Caisse d’Epargne
- Diederik Bruggink, Head of Payments and Innovation, European Savings and Retail Banking Group
- Etienne Goosse, Director General, European Payments Council
- Fanny Solano, Director Digital and Retail Regulation, Transparency and Implementation, CaixaBank
- Fernando Rodríguez Ferrer, Head of Business Development, Bizum
- Gerard Hartsink, Chairman, ICC DSI Industry Advisory Board
- Inga Mullins, CEO, Fluency
- Jens Holeczek, Head of Digital Payment Unit, National Association of German Cooperative Banks
- Jochen Siegert, Managing Director, Global Head of Asset Platforms, Deutsche Bank AG
- Nicolas Kozakiewicz, Chief Innovation Officer, Worldline
- Nilixa Devlukia, CEO, Payments Solved
- Nils Beier, Managing Director, Accenture Strategy & Consulting
- Paul Le Manh, Advisor to CEO, EPI Interim Company
- Piet Mallekoote, Former CEO, Dutch Payments Association
- Régis Folbaum, Head of Payments, La Banque Postale
- Roberto Catanzaro, Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer, Nexi Group
- Ruth McCarthy, Managing Director, FEXCO Corporate Payments
- Sean Mullaney, Head of Payment Engineering, EMEA Payments, Stripe
- Silvia Attanasio, Head of Innovation, Associazione Bancaria Italiana
- Sofia Lindh Possne, Senior Advisor, Group Regulatory Affairs, Swedbank
- Stefano Favale, Head of Global Transaction Banking, Intesa Sanpaolo
- Teresa Mesquita, Chief Marketing and Product Officer, SIBS Forward Payment Solutions
- Valdis Bergs, Chairman of the Board, Mobilly sia
- Ville Sointu, Head of Emerging Technologies, Nordea
- Yves Blavet, Open Banking Director, Société Générale
