France will begin testing digital euro

The French Central Bank announced the start of testing its digital currency (CBDC) in 2020.

Bank Manager of France Vilroy de Galloannounced that in the near future the bank will begin testing the digital euro project. According to a French source Les Echos, the head of the Central Bank announced the launch of a pilot project in the first half of 2020. Representatives of the bank officially confirmed this news on Twitter.

A pilot project will be launched in financialinstitutions and large industrial enterprises of France and at the initial stage will not include retail payments. In the future, the bank is considering using digital euro to pay for goods and services under the close supervision of the regulator.

France seeks to become the first country in the world to launch a central bank digital currency as opposed to a private offer.

Villeroy explained that a long-term plan to implement a public digital currency is important to demonstrate the benefits over private cryptocurrencies such as Libra fromFacebook. 

France has already shown its negative stance ontowards Libra earlier this year. Stating that Libra is a threat to the monetary sovereignty of European states, the country called for the creation of an alternative public cryptocurrency of the European space.

The Central Bank intends to modernize the financial system of France, increase people's confidence in the national digital currency and expand the use of blockchain technologies in various sectors of the economy.