ECB Assures Digital Euro Users of Maximum Privacy
The European Central Bank (ECB) has assured that its planned digital euro will offer users the maximum level of privacy currently possible. ECB Board Member Piero Cipollone made this claim in an interview with Italian outlet ilsussidiario.net, conducted on August 10 and published by the ECB on Monday.
Cipollone stated that offline payments would run directly between individuals, with transaction details only available to the payer and payee. Online, the Eurosystem would not be able to identify individuals making or receiving payments, although banks involved in transactions could do so for anti-money laundering purposes.
The digital euro's design prioritizes user privacy, but this does not exempt it from existing rules applying to all money. Commercial banks distributing the currency will retain visibility into payment data and reporting obligations.