The Bank of Finland (BOF) is promoting the development of new forms of payment with the development of a Finnish rapid payment system that conforms to European standards.
Valimaki disclosed that the BOF actively encourages the creation of novel payment methods. The official referred to the digital euro as “the most topical project” in the European payments industry.
“The possible introduction of a digital euro would give consumers the option of paying with central bank money wherever electronic payment is accepted.”
According to Valimaki, the Bank of Finland and the European Payments Council are also contributing to developing a solution for rapid payments in Finland. This payment solution will rely on credit transfer rather than payment card rails.
In February 2023, a Finnish company, Membrane Finance, issued an entirely reserved stablecoin backed by the euro. Membrane Finance’s chief executive officer, Juha Viitala, hoped the EUROe coin would encourage more Europeans to increase their wealth via decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.
This week, the European Central Bank’s (ECB) governing council announced the start of the “preparation phase” for the digital euro initiative. The preparation phase will last two years and concentrate on finalizing the digital currency’s regulations and identifying potential issuers.
