A digital euro would be necessary to ensure users can still make payments during major outages, according to European Central Bank (ECB) board member Piero Cipollone.
A Eurozone central bank digital currency (CBDC) could provide business continuity in the event of a cyberattack on banks or other payment providers, Cipollone stated during a recent address.
“If a cyberattack caused the outage of a bank’s own app, but the bank’s backend services were still functioning, customers would still be able to access their accounts with that bank through the ECB’s digital euro app,” he explained.
Moreover, if a digital euro app had offline functionality, it could serve as a fallback for users during a power outage that disrupts traditional payment methods.
“Cash is our only true fallback…but as society increasingly moves away from cash, and as cash itself may be difficult to access in emergencies, we need to complement it with a digital version,” Cipollone added.
The ECB, similar to many other economies worldwide, has been exploring the potential of a digital version of its currency for several years.
Among their motivations are addressing the competition posed by stablecoins and non-bank payment services.
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