ECB’s Panetta: Digital euro could be launched in three to four years

BERLIN, May 24 (Reuters) — A digital euro could be launched in three or four years but banknotes will be available as long as there is demand for them, Fabio Panetta, a member of the European Central Bank’s Executive Board, told Les Echos.

To make the digital euro interoperable with other central bank digital currencies, the ECB was working closely with the central banks of the U.S., Britain, Switzerland, Canada, Japan and Sweden.

«We are in a preliminary stage where we compare notes on our progress,» Panetta said in an interview published on the ECB website on Wednesday, adding that more work was required.

«While interoperability is desirable, different national rules on confidentiality would make it more challenging.»

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