Eesti Pank in cooperation with the other Baltic central banks is organising an international conference on 29 September, which will focus on the future of payments in Europe and their security of operation. The discussions will consider why Europe needs a digital form of  cash, and what preparations will need to be made by states and payment service providers before it can be introduced. The keynote speakers at the conference will be Piero Cipollone of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, and Valdis Dombrovskis, European Commissioner for Economy and Productivity.

The European Central Bank is working with all the central banks of the euro area and with European legislators on preparations to extend the euro in cash by bringing the digital euro, sometimes referred to as digital cash, into circulation alongside it. The digital euro would be independent of non-European providers of payment services like Visa and MasterCard, allowing digital payments to continue being made even in the event of card payments being interrupted across the whole euro area.

The conference Payments & Policy in a Changing Environment will bring together stakeholders from across the public and private sectors, with a particular focus on the Baltic States. Attendees will include national and EU policymakers, Members of the European Parliament, financial intermediaries, fintech companies, and other interested parties.

Longer presentations will be given by Valdis Dombrovskis, European Commissioner for Economy and Productivity, and Piero Cipollone from the Executive Board of the European Central Bank, who will focus on Europe’s digitalisation and strategic autonomy, and the payments landscape now and in the future. The opening presentations will be followed by a discussion between the speakers, Governor of Eesti Pank Madis Müller and Governor of Latvijas Banka Mārtiņš Kazāks on the role of the digital euro in strengthening Europe’s economy.

The panels at the conference will discuss the reasons for developing the digital euro and how far the European Central Bank has progressed with its preparations. They will also consider how the digital euro can be integrated with local and European payment systems, and what challenges and opportunities it can offer for the public and private sectors. The panel discussion will focus particular attention on the security and resilience of payments in Europe and the Baltic states and how the digital euro can contribute to that. Another topic will be how innovation in the financial sector can be better brought into the development of the digital euro.

The programme for the conference and information.

The seminar will be held on 29 September at 09.30–16.00 in Eesti Pank and can be followed live on the Eesti Pank website and YouTube and Facebook channels, and through the Worksup platform. Attendance in person is by invitation. The working language of the conference is English and there will be no interpretation provided.

Further information:
Hanna Jürgenson
Communications Officer of Eesti Pank
5692 0930
Email: [email protected]
Press enquiries: [email protected]