Innovative banking solutions. Christine Lagarde on the digital euro

"The digital revolution has changed our lives in a fundamental way," Christine Lagarde said on September 10 at the Deutsche Bundesbank online conference. It is impossible to disagree with this statement, taking into account not only the previous years, but especially the last year. "Banking and payments in the digital world" was the main topic raised by Lagarde in his speech. The global economic situation has influenced the preferences of consumers who have started to value virtual payment methods more. In everyday life, the Internet seems to be an open medium that is used not only for communication, but also for learning, transactions and much more. More than 80% of Europeans use the Internet every day, whether for entertainment or for professional reasons. The prevailing trend towards digitization accelerated due to the pandemic, thus it became more convenient to use online payments and contactless payments in brick-and-mortar stores. Research covering the market in 17 European countries has shown that the vast majority of consumers prefer digital services and their choice will not change even if the pandemic ends. Another trend shaping the current status of digital payment methods is the international competition for market domination on a global scale. Unfortunately, on a global scale, Europe is far from on the podium in this fight. A survey by the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum only reassured us that central banks are more trusted than commercial banks and tech companies as hypothetical issuers of digital currencies. According to Christine Lagarde, the modernization of payment systems is the only right direction. "At the European Central Bank, it is our responsibility to ensure that people have access to risk-free, low-cost means of payment as well as to the most modern payment services that reflect a changing economy. [...] We must ensure that European payments are adapted to the global digital economy. so that we can maintain the autonomy of European payments in the face of changing risks. " The Eurosystem has not yet taken a final decision on the introduction of the digital euro, but is constantly testing the market in terms of the benefits and risks of implementing this innovation. The full speech is available on the website of the European Central Bank https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/key/date/2020/html/ecb.sp200910~31e6ae9835.en.html