Creating a Level Playing Field

The International Mint Industry Association (IMIA) has issued a position paper on the European Commission’s (EC) draft regulations on the legal tender of euro banknotes and coins. The paper also refers to the EC’s proposals about a possible digital euro. Although supportive of the initiative, the IMIA highlights a number of concerns.

The current legal tender status of euro cash does not guarantee reliable and universal acceptance or wide and easy access. One result of this is that the European cash infrastructure is being eroded. As a result, the IMIA agrees that clarification is needed.

Cash today has already achieved what a digital euro will need to achieve if it is to act as complementary digital central

bank money. Cash is a trusted and known payment product, widely adopted for transactions and, unlike the digital euro, can be used as a store of value. It is exchangeable on a one-to-one basis with commercial bank money, thereby fulfilling that value anchor role that delivers financial stability and resilient payments.