Digital euro is the same as legal currency ── Is it obligatory for businesses in the euro area to accept it | coindesk JAPAN | Coindesk Japan

Businesses in the eurozone could be obliged to accept the digital euro if it is deemed legal tender, according to a document obtained by CoinDesk and due to be submitted to finance ministers after March 13. have a nature.

Giving central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) the same status as banknotes and coins would mean that they would be obligated to pay and be forced to be given or received at face value, the document said.

Equivalent to fiat currency “implies a legal obligation for (certain) payees to accept payments in digital euros, which can increase network effects and affect circulation,”20 The Eurogroup secretariat, which gathers the countries’ eurozone finance ministers, wrote in a document prepared before the monthly meeting.

The document also asks ministers “whether exemptions should be considered to ensure proportional application while balancing the principles of contractual freedom and compulsory acceptance.”

At a previous discussion in January, ministers said that the digital euro should not be programmable, meaning that limiting how recipients of certain payments can use it would compromise the convertibility of money. He said it would be a loss.

The European Central Bank (ECB) is set to formally decide whether to issue a digital currency this fall, and officials are working out technical details, including which uses to prioritize. By the way.

EU governments will also be involved in developing the legislation necessary to support CBDCs. Last week, the European Commission’s Mairead McGuinness said the forthcoming bill would consider legal tender status, as well as anti-money laundering rules and compensation for those who distribute the currency. It was confirmed.

｜Translation: coindesk JAPAN
｜Editing: Toshihiko Inoue
｜Image: Shutterstock
｜Original: EU Merchants Could Be Required to Accept Digital Euro, Ministers Told