The multilingual voice allows transactions without screens, simulating cash payments. The European Parliament analyzes the protection of data and privacy of the digital euro. The European Central Bank (ECB) announces that it accelerates the advances of the digital euro by activating its second round of experimentation, which will explore innovations such as voice payments in its digital currency platform of Central Bank (CBDC), designed for millions of Europeans. This initiative, revealed in a report published on September 26, seeks to break digital barriers through vocal commands, guaranteeing fast and safe payments throughout the euro zone, according to the ECB. Since October 2024, the ECB launched this platform to integrate collaborators with the development of the digital euro, the project in which it has been working since November 2023. As reported on multiple occasions, its intention is to preserve monetary sovereignty before the explosion of digital payments in the world, including digital assets such as Bitcoin, as Cryptonoths reported. In the first phase of this year, almost 70 participants, including banks, Fintech and merchants, joined to encourage inclusion. So in your next step, The ECB details in its new report how voice payments They would allow balance consultations, invoices or confirmations with pin/biometry in multiple languages. For the banking institution, this characteristic will benefit millions of Europeans with visual, auditory or low digital literacy. And although it is not mentioned in the document, it is clear that the ECB has been inspired by functions such as those currently possessed by Alipay. This digital portfolio and Chinese payment service has launched smart lenses with interface and recognition of intention for transactions via voice commands.
A digital euro that dreams of being like cash
Now, the digital euro interfaces will be tested in simulated environments, imitating the use of cash with auditory and visual signals, reducing friction for rookies. «We ask market participants to imagine the many opportunities that a digital euro could offer to consumers and merchants. His enthusiastic response shows the immense reach for the digital euro to play a transforming role in the European payment panorama, ”said Piero Cipollone, a member of the ECB Executive Committee, during the presentation at the Bocconi University of Milan. According to the ECB, the tests confirmed technical viability of innovations such as the voice aligned with the legislative draft that Reserve funds for conditionality without compromising privacy.
It is noteworthy that the European Parliament discusses the regulation of the establishment of the digital euro, presented by the European Commission on June 28, 2023. One of its objectives is that the European CBDC offers a level of anonymity similar to cash, especially in offline transactions. From what is known, until now, the digital euro should not track individual payments, and Service suppliers only access personal data If necessary to comply with legal obligations, requiring explicit consent of the user. This contrasts with private systems such as credit cards, where companies track data for commercial purposes. Despite all the advances presented by the ECB, there are those who think that the CBDC of Europe will not be convenient for those who live in the continent. In the words of the specialist lawyer in cryptocurrencies and business law Cristina Carrascosa, «the digital euro will not be able to compete with the stablecoins», since this project overlooks the progressive liberalization of retail trade promoted by digitalization, which favors rapid transfers and ecosystems with flexible private actors. As Cryptonotics reported, for Carrascosa, Europe is late with a wrong approach, prioritizing the issuance of a CBDC over technological innovation and efficient infrastructure, a historical error that leaves it at geopolitical disadvantage against the United States, because «it does not respond to a citizen need, but to a monetary strategy that will not meet expectations.»
