ECB Adds 30 Members to the Digital Euro Market Advisory Group

The European Central Bank (ECB) announced on Monday that it has added 30 new members to the Market Advisory Group for the digital euro project. According to EBC, all the 30 senior business professionals appointed by its selection committee have proven experience and a broad understanding of the euro area retail payments market, including executives from Societe Generale, Nordea, BBVA, and Deutsche Bank.

The group will be named 'The Eurosystem' s High-Level Task Force on Central Bank Digital Currency.’ Members of the Market Advisory Group will act in a personal capacity, advising the Eurosystem on the design and distribution of a potential digital euro from an industry perspective, and on how a digital euro could add value for all players in the euro area' s diverse payments ecosystem. 

“I am pleased that many high-quality experts from the private sector are willing to contribute to the digital euro project”, said ECB Board Member Fabio Panetta, Chair of the High-Level Task Force. “Their expertise will facilitate the integration of prospective users' and distributors' views on a digital euro during the investigation phase.”

Moreover, the central bank noted that a representative from the European Commission and representatives from Eurosystem national central banks would also participate in the meeting expected to start from November with written consultations in-between. Additionally, the ECB noted that the Eurosystem would engage with the public and merchants through dedicated surveys (e.g. of focus groups) and will continue to hold technical workshops with the industry.