The European Central Bank is working to innovate retail and wholesale payments. The preparation phase for the digital euro is entering its second year, while trials for wholesale central bank digital currencies are advancing.

In Frankfurt, OMFIF’s Future of payments forum brought together representatives from central banks, scheme operators, regulators, commercial banks and technology providers to unpack the progress and challenges in upgrading the payments infrastructure within Europe. They examined the demand for digital innovation, user concerns around privacy and the potential of public-private partnerships to spur progress in CBDC experiments.