Half of Germans in a recent survey said they could see themselves using the digital euro despite many not having heard of it or knowing exactly what it is.
Deutsche Bundesbank’s <a href="https://www.bundesbank.de/en/press/press-releases/bundesbank-survey-widespread-acceptance-of-digital-euro-among-general-public--933322" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">survey</a> of 2,012 people published on June 4 saw 50% say they could either “definitely” or “probably” imagine using the <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/learn/the-digital-euro-project-how-will-it-impact-the-current-financial-system">digital euro</a> — the European Central Bank’s pilot central bank digital currency (<a href="https://cointelegraph.com/learn/what-is-a-cbdc-why-central-banks-want-to-get-into-digital-currencies">CBDC</a>) — if it was an additional payment option.
A quarter said they would “definitely not” use it, about the same said they would “probably not” — 1% said they didn’t know.
<figure>
 <img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-06/f3f6ce4b-d531-456f-9de9-b4e4158468cb.png">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Respondents on whether they would use the digital euro — translated from German via Google Translate. Source: Deutsche Bundesbank
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</figure>
But three in five respondents also said they had never heard, read or seen anything about the digital euro.
Of the remainder who had heard something, about a quarter said they didn’t know what it was — 16% thought it <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitpanda-deutsche-bank-payments">was a cryptocurrency</a> while nearly 30% either thought the digital euro was meant to replace cash or believed cash would be abolished if it was introduced.
Just 17% correctly answered that it was a form of Eurosystem central bank-issued digital money that the ECB said would be available in addition to other payment methods, such as cash.
<figure>
 <img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-06/5758dff0-9479-4caa-b49d-0bc1238d01f4.png">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Respondents’ beliefs on the digital euro — translated from German via Google Translate. Source: Deutsche Bundesbank
 </figcaption>
</figure>
Bundesbank President Joachim Nagel said in a statement that the survey shows “a great deal of information still needs to be provided.”
<h2 id="privacy-the-greatest-concern-for-digital-euro">Privacy the greatest concern for digital euro</h2>
Ensuring better privacy from the digital euro over existing digital payment options was the most important feature to respondents, with over three-quarters rating it as “very important” or “important.”
Over 70% said it is important that the CBDC is based on European infrastructure, while more than 60% marked a level of importance on the digital euro being government-issued like cash and with the ability to pay offline.
<figure>
 <img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-06/a9e63265-0303-4b67-9b13-c643d61757e3.png">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Importance ranking of the digital euro’s features — translated from German via Google Translate. Source: Deutsche Bundesbank
 </figcaption>
</figure>
“Eurosystem central banks have no interest in users’ data,” Nagel said. He claimed the digital euro would protect privacy “far more effectively than current commercial payment solutions.”
Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/digital-euro-europe-privacy-adoption">Can the digital euro actually find traction in Europe?</a>
The ECB <a href="https://www.ecb.europa.eu/euro/digital_euro/faqs/html/ecb.faq_digital_euro.en.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener nofollow">claims</a> the digital euro can be used offline and transaction details “would be known only to the payer and the payee.”
It’s currently in a <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/ecb-preparation-phase-digital-euro">preparation phase</a> slated for completion in October 2025 which focuses on finalizing rules and finding possible issuers.
Last June, the European Commission <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/european-commission-aims-universal-acceptance-digital-euro-proposal">submitted a draft regulation</a> proposing a legal framework for the digital euro and a proposal to safeguard the use of cash.
Burkhard Balz, Bundesbank’s board member responsible for the digital euro project, said in a statement that current plans would see people “able to make their first payments with the digital euro in 2028 at the earliest.”
Magazine: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/unstable-coins-de-pegging-bank-runs-other-risks-2023/">Unstablecoins: Depegging, bank runs and other risks loom</a>

Germans split on digital euro, most don’t know what it is: Survey

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