James O'Doherty, senior associate: "On
28 April 2021, the Central Bank hosted a webinar entitled "The
Future of Retail Payments" with speakers from the Central
Bank, the European Commission and industry who gave an overview of
technological innovation and strategic policy developments within
the retail payments sector.
In her address to the webinar, Sharon Donnery, Deputy
Governor of the Central Bank placed particular emphasis on the work
being done at a European level in respect of a Digital Euro.
According to the European Central Bank
("ECB"), a Digital Euro will combine
"the efficiency of a digital payment instrument with the
safety of central bank money" and "avoid
dependence on digital means of payment issued and controlled from
outside the euro area, which might undermine financial stability
and monetary sovereignty". Ms Donnery noted that the ECB
has concluded its public consultation on a digital euro and that
the key issues raised in the consultation were
