this post was submitted on 01 May 2026
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The digital euro could arrive by 2029 β€” but a bitter battle between Brussels and the banks stands in the way.

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[–] Steve 2 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

I guess the username+password part is new, but I'm not sure it's enough of a reason to invent a whole new payment system. Normal CC networks do all the rest already.

[–] dubak@feddit.org 5 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 3 hours ago) (1 children)

I’m not sure it’s enough of a reason to invent a whole new payment system.

The Euronews report lists the reasons:

Visa and Mastercard, both American, account for 61% of card payments in the eurozone and nearly all cross-border transactions, according to ECB data.

US President Donald Trump's return to the White House and his hostile approach to both foreign policy and trade accelerated the debate, and at the European Council in mid-March, EU leaders set a deadline to approve the legislation before the end of 2026.

The ECB's push to launch one is partly a response to the rise of privately issued stablecoins, which have steadily eaten into the payments landscape.

The message from Brussels and institutions across the continent is clear: Europe wants to control its own money.

[–] Steve 2 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

I did read all that. I'm all for creating a public way around the corporate payment networks.

What I mean is, one could just create a public charge card network that works the same way, with the same infrastructure that Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, Diner's Club, etc all use. All that would change are the fee structures everyone pays. I don't see the need to reinvent the wheel here.

[–] dubak@feddit.org 5 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

What I mean is, one could just create a public charge card network that works the same way, with the same infrastructure that Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, Diner’s Club, etc all use.

Visa and co. mostly don't work on modern mobile phones. Digital euro strives to replace apple pay and google pay as well. Visa and co. also have lot of redundant functions like payment by credit, solvency assessment, cash back rewards, travel points and purchase protections. Digital euro doesn't have that and as a consequence, it doesn't need to intrude into customer's privacy as much as credit card companies do. Nor does it incur the vast costs associated with credit recuperation on banks.

[–] Steve 1 points 1 hour ago

Visa and co. mostly don't work on modern mobile phones.

Never had a problem. Not sure what that means

The networks don't do credit, or cash back rewards, points and the like. That's not Visa and friends. Those are offered by the banks who back the accounts. Debit cards don't have those options and work exactly the same as far as the charge network is concerned.

The public network doesn't have to worry about any of that. People could use it with credit, debit, or charge cards whatever they wanted.