Investigating the design of a digital euro
Exploring the interplay between agency and trust in the future of payments
S.B.A. Witlox (TU Delft - Industrial Design Engineering)
Jaap Daalhuizen (TU Delft - Form and Experience)
Anneloes van Gent (De Nederlandsche Bank)
Huib Klarenbeek (De Nederlandsche Bank)
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Abstract
Society is becoming increasingly digital and as a result, digital means of payment are rising in importance. Faster, more efficient, and increasingly accessible payments in the Netherlands have caused a decline in the use of cash, as many consumers and merchants choose private payment methods over central bank money (Betaalvereniging, 2024). As the use of cash dwindles, the key values associated with central bank money such as inclusivity, privacy, resilience, or usability across Europe might no longer be secured.
In response, the euro system, consisting of 20 central banks of the euro area including the European Central Bank and the Dutch Central Bank, is working on the introduction of the Digital Euro: a new form of central bank money designed to address these challenges (European Central Bank, 2024). While the policy level vision for the digital euro is strong, improving resilience of the European payment infrastructure, vision about the value on an individual level should be deepened and translated to the design of the Digital Euro. In order to achieve this policy level vision it is important that consumers and merchants adopt the payment method as a result of the value it brings them.
This thesis investigates how society interacts with payments today, anticipates how these interactions are likely to evolve, and identifies how DNB and other stakeholders in the Netherlands’ payment infrastructure should intervene through the design of the digital euro.
The study is approached using the Vision in Product Design methodology, to create a design vision for the Digital Euro based on the emerging challenges from the investigated likely future vision. It explores the evolving relationship between society and payments, with a focus on the interplay between agency and trust: The digitization of payments has shifted the power dynamic, often positioning users as either the product or the consumer in financial transactions. In this opaque digital system, individuals must rely on trust. However, identifying who or what to trust remains challenging for many. Three key challenges for payments in general arise based on three trust attitudes identified in the re-framing.
Rather than a conclusion, the outcomes from this thesis serve as a starting point for DNB to address the challenges emerging from the changing relationship between society and payment, through the digital euro or otherwise.