© Frankfurt School Blockchain Center 1
The Digital,
Programmable Euro,
Libra and CBDCs:
Implications for
European Banks
Philipp Sandner, Jonas Gross, Lena Grale, Philipp Schulden
Frankfurt School Blockchain Center
July 29, 2020

© Frankfurt School Blockchain Center 2
50+
senior experts
surveyed from central banks, financial
organizations and industrial companies

© Frankfurt School Blockchain Center 3
Key points of the report
This report provides a consolidation of a conducted study on the topics of the digital, programmable Euro, Libra
and CBDCs.
What is the study about?
The study sheds light on the perception
of the digital, programmable Euro, Libra
and CBDCs.
What is the data basis for
the study?
For the data collection, more than 50
senior experts were interviewed in order
to derive a comprehensive picture of
sentiment.
Why was the study being
conducted?
To date, payment innovations are not
sufficiently discussed and analyzed
from the perspective of different
sectors and industries.
When was the survey of
the experts being
conducted?
The expert interviews were conducted in
June and July of 2020.
Who conducted the study?
The study was conducted by the
Frankfurt School Blockchain Center with
the support of its partners.
05
01
02 03
04

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Executive summary of study results
The respective benefits and risks have a series of implications for european banks, as shown in the middle.
Benefits
❏ Financial integrity (AML, CFT)
❏ Opportunities for monetary policy
❏ Monetary sovereignty
❏ Payment efficiency
❏ Payment convenience
❏ Financial sector innovations through increasing
competition
❏ Financial inclusion
❏ Wake-up call for CBDC development
❏ Global interoperability
Digital Euro on LibraDigital Euro as CBDC
❏ Digital bank runs
❏ Operational and reputational risk
❏ Centralization of credit at the central bank
❏ Disintermediation of banks:
❏ CBDC can cause an excessive movement of
funds from banks to the central bank
leading to refinancing problems for banks
❏ Libra will crowd out financial organizations
of the cross-border payments market
❏ Potential abuse of market power, data
centralization and insufficient consumer
protection
❏ Implementation of well-functioning global
regulatory framework
❏ Diminishing power of central banks
❏ Liquidity and credit risk
Risks

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Expert interview participants (1)
The study results are based on cross-sectoral and relevant expertise from central banks, financial organizations and industrial
companies.
No. ID Field of work Country Profession
1 A1 Academia Germany Professor
2 A2 Academia Germany Research Assistant
3 A3 Academia Switzerland Research Assistant
4 A4 Academia Switzerland Professor
5 A5 Academia Denmark Research Assistant
6 A6 Academia Germany Professor
7 A7 Academia Spain Research Assistant
8 A8 Academia Republic of Korea Research Assistant
9 A9 Academia Switzerland Professor
10 B1 Banking Germany Chief Economist and Head of Research
11 B2 Banking Germany Digital Markets Development Manager
12 B3 Banking Germany Managing Director
13 B4 Banking Germany Digital Office

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Expert interview participants (2)
The study results are based on cross-sectoral and relevant expertise from central banks, financial organizations and industrial
companies.
No. ID Field of work Country Profession
14 B5 Banking Germany CFO
15 B6 Banking Germany Senior Trader
16 B7 Banking Germany Undisclosed
17 C1 Central Banking Pan-European Undisclosed
18 C2 Central Banking Germany Undisclosed
19 C3 Central Banking Ukraine Undisclosed
20 C4 Central Banking United States Undisclosed
21 D1 Associations Germany Head of Research
22 D2 Associations Germany Undisclosed
23 D3 Associations Germany Director of Economics
24 D4 Associations Germany Research Assistant
25 D5 Associations Germany Partner Lawyer
26 E1 International Organization United States Economist

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Expert interview participants (3)
The study results are based on cross-sectoral and relevant expertise from central banks, financial organizations and industrial
companies.
No. ID Field of work Country Profession
27 F1 Consultancy Germany Director Digital Finance
28 F2 Consultancy Germany Research Assistant
29 F3 Consultancy Germany Research Assistant
30 F4 Consultancy Germany Senior Expert
31 F5 Consultancy Germany Expert Principle
32 F6 Consultancy Germany Knowledge Specialist
33 I1 Industry Switzerland Chief Economist
34 I2 Industry Barbados Executive Vice Chairman
35 I3 Industry Germany Project Leader
36 I4 Industry Germany Business Expert
37 I5 Industry Germany Research Assistant
38 I6 Industry Denmark Research Assistant
39 I7 Industry Germany CTO

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Expert interview participants (4)
The study results are based on cross-sectoral and relevant expertise from central banks, financial organizations and industrial
companies.
No. ID Field of work Country Profession
40 I8 Industry Germany Consultant
41 I9 Industry Germany CEO
42 I10 Industry Germany Founder and CEO
43 I11 Industry Germany Chief Business Development Officer
44 I12 Industry Canada Solution Architect
45 I14 Industry Germany Consultant
46 I13 Industry United Kingdom CEO
47 L1 Lawyer Germany Legal Partner
48 L2 Lawyer Germany Head of Digital Assets and DeFi
49 O1 Others Germany Co-founder
50 O2 Others Germany Head of Innovation
51 O3 Others Germany Research Assistant

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Agenda
The study is structured into 3 different sub-categories.
Benefits and risks of Libra and its impact
on banks03
● What are the benefits of Libra?
● What are the risks of Libra?
● When will Libra be introduced in the Euro area?
Benefits and risks of CBDC and its impact
on banks02
● What are the benefits of a CBDC?
● What are the risks of a CBDC?
● When will a Euro CBDC be issued by the ECB?
Benefits and use cases of the digital,
programmable Euro01
● What are the key benefits of a digital, programmable Euro?
● Is DLT the appropriate technology to implement a digital,
programmable Euro?
● Do we need a digital, programmable Euro?

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Part 1:
Benefits and use cases of the digital,
programmable Euro

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What are the key benefits of a digital,
programmable Euro?
Experts attribute the greatest benefit to a automation potential of the digital, programmable Euro (e.g. automated
processes as well as financial services such as interest payments, loans, escrow accounts, leasing, factoring).

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Is DLT the appropriate technology to implement
a digital, programmable Euro?
A significant portion of the surveyed experts (62%) regard DLT-technology as the appropriate technological layer
for the implementation of a digital, programmable Euro.
62%
20%
18%

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Do we need a digital, programmable Euro?
A significant proportion of experts (76%) see considerable and immanent benefits of a digital Euro for the banking
sector and for the industrial, non-banking sector.
76%
8%
8%
8%

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Part 2:
Benefits and risks of CBDC and its impact
on banks

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What are the benefits of a CBDC?
For 27% of the experts, improved payment efficiency is the primary benefit of a CBDC, followed by payment
convenience (18%) and financial integrity (18%).
27%
18%
18%
14%
12%
11%

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What are the risks of a CBDC?
For 55% of the experts, main risks of a CBDC are primarily to be found in potentially emerging financial stability
risks, followed by operational and reputational risks (34%) and the possibility of credit centralization (11%).
55%
34%
11%

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When will a Euro CBDC be issued by the ECB?
A majority of experts do not expect a Euro CBDC to be introduced before 2023. In their assessment, 42% consider
an introduction in the years between 2023 and 2025 and 42% assume an introduction between 2025 and 2030.
4%
6%
6%
42%
42%

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Part 3:
Benefits and risks of Libra and its impact
on banks

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What are the benefits of Libra?
28% of the experts attribute Libra to a potential for an increase in payment efficiency. For 20%, Libra could serve
as a trigger for research and development in the banking sector, followed by benefits for financial inclusion (18%).
20%
18%
17%
9%
5%
3%
28%

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What are the risks of Libra?
21% of the experts fear an abuse of the Libra Association's market power due to a market predominance of
Facebook. Other risks include legal and regulation (20%) as well as a diminishing power of central banks (15%).
21%
20%
15%
15%
13%
8%
8%

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When will Libra be introduced in the Euro area?
48% of the experts expect a introduction of Libra in 2021. As such, Libra is expected to be launched at a
considerably earlier stage than a CBDC.
48%
32%
9%
2%
2%
7%

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Contact
For questions regarding our research as well as for general inquiries, please contact us.
Frankfurt School Blockchain Center
Adickesallee 32-34
60322 Frankfurt am Main
Germany
Web: www.fs-blockchain.de
E-mail: team@fs-blockchain.de
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