The Euro Banking Association (EBA) has published an insight note comparing selected forms of digital money.
The association positions the note as a fact pack intended to support informed public and professional discussion on the topic. The full guide is available upon request. The document describes a concise, neutral, and fact-based overview of selected forms of digital money.
What the guide covers
The note compares the main characteristics of the forms of digital money it examines and evaluates their applicability for selected use cases. It also sets out the problems each form addresses, the limitations that remain, and the emerging challenges they present for financial institutions.
Terminology is a stated focus. According to Wim Grosemans, Chair of the EBA's Digital Currencies & Smart Payments Working Group (DSWG), digital money is a complex field, and professionals require clear, practical information they can apply in their daily work. The guide takes stock of the distinct types of digital money and aims to align the terms used to describe them. It brings together the essential facts, use cases, and impediments in a single format, which the working group expects to serve as a reference for understanding current developments, comparing options, and supporting informed decisions.
The publication arrives as the market for digital assets, including digital money, continues to evolve rapidly. The EBA notes that payment service providers, central banks, and other stakeholders are actively developing and testing new forms of money. These include central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), stablecoins, tokenised deposits, and deposit tokens, with the latter two listed by the EBA as separate categories.
DSWG and EBA’s backgrounds and motivation
DSWG aims to support learning regarding the emergence of digital currencies and to examine their potential applications, opportunities, and implications, to generate white papers on the subject.
The EBA brings payments practitioners together with the aim of synchronising Europe's payments infrastructure. Its activities include evaluating the impact of regulation, current trends, and technologies, as well as creating market practices.
