“If we want the digital Euro to become a success, we need a clear and convincing narrative of why we need it in the first place. People need to see the benefits of a digital Euro in their day-to-day lives. The European Central Bank and the European Commission have yet to make a compelling case of why we need the digital Euro and what added value it will deliver,” explained Markus Ferber MEP, the EPP Group Spokesman in the European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee.
They keep speaking about advantages but list none nor can i see any.
I can already use my ec card to pay and i need a bank account for my bills anyways so why would i get another digital option
If you mean German EC cards, afaik they mostly don’t work outside Germany.
And most Credit and Debit cards today are operated by either Visa or Mastercard, two American companies.
I think one of the main purposes of the digital Euro is to counter that monopoly.
I’ve used the EC card in Austria, as well as Sweden and Italy without any issues.
When? Because until last month they still had Maestro on them. It’s likely that you used that in those other countries unknowingly. EC is a distinctly German thing.
My Sparkassenkarte worked perfectly fine in the Netherlands just 3 weeks ago.
I didn’t even know they killed Maestro and assumed it used that.
They killed it at the end of June, so I assume it did still use Maestro.
right my bad, yes ofc with maestro on it i thoguht ec was a general word for electronic payment with a debit card
It’s important to note that Maestro was just killed off by Mastercard. So now you’ll need a Visa or Mastercard Debit Card. Which is probably one of the reasons why the EU would like a system that isn’t dependant on these two US companies.
EC is Maestro and it has been discontinued. Once your card gets renewed, you basically move to a Mastercard, since they own Maestro/EC More: https://www.mastercard.com/news/europe/en/perspectives/en/2021/blog-from-valerie-nowak-why-this-maestro-is-retiring-after-30-years/