The European Central Bank plans to get 350 million inhabitants in the zone to adopt a new digital version of the euro in the coming years. She delivered her vision of this central bank digital currency that “supervised intermediaries” could operate.

The bank mentioned a consumer application capable of “offering contactless payments or QR codes.” The e-euro project was launched at the end of 2019 to offer a centralized alternative to cryptocurrencies, given the reputation of some of them. On Monday, January 23, 2023, a senior ECB official said that the future digital euro will never be a “programmable currency.” It is thus limited in its uses. “Let's be clear: the digital euro will never be a programmable currency,” said Fabio Panetta, a member of the ECB's executive board. It was before the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament.

According to Fabio Panetta, the ECB does not want to impose restrictions on how this digital euro can be spent, whether in terms of the nature of the purchases, where or when they are made. Finally, the ECB is therefore now aiming for mass adoption that is present in the daily lives of citizens.