Finland Highlights New Payment System, European Central Bank Preps For Digital Euro

The Bank of Finland (BOF) announced it was underway to create a Finnish instant payment solution compatible with European standards.

The solution will be based on credit transfer and not depend on payment card rails, as reported by CoinTelegraph.

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BOF board member and member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) Tuomas Välimäki said the bank continuously promotes the development of new forms of payment and the digital euro was the most topical project in the European payment sector.

Tuomas added that with the digital euro, consumers would have the option of paying with central bank money wherever electronic payment is accepted, but it will not be an investment object like cryptocurrencies. He highlighted that Finland accounted for the highest use of electronic payment methods including cards and mobile transfers among the Eurozone member countries.

Read Next: Coinbase Selects Germany As Operations Base For European Expansion

ECB’s Digital Euro Project: The ECB announced that from Nov.1, 2023, it would begin the preparation phase for the digital euro project which will carry on for two years and focus on finalizing rules for the digital currency, selecting possible private-sector partners, and undertaking some testing and experimentation, as reported by Reuters.

It would allow people in the 20 countries that share a single currency to make electronic payments securely and free of charge. This placed the ECB ahead of the other central banks of the Group of Seven (G7) wealthy nations and may set a blueprint for others to follow.

Finnish Company Launches Stablecoin: In February 2023, a Finland-based company Membrane Finance launched a fully reserved stablecoin backed by the euro, called EUROe, for transactions on the Ethereum blockchain. CEO Juha Viitala expected the regulated coin would encourage more Europeans to expand their wealth through decentralized finance (DeFi) applications.

EUROe is one of the first Euro-pegged stablecoins to receive an electronic money institution (EMI) license from the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority (FIN-FSA).

Read Next: Digital Euro Master Plan: European Commission Unveils Roadmap To Modernize Currency

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