Euro Digitale: BANCOMAT S.p.A. is the leader in experimentation.

In Europe, there is a desire for digital currency, based on Blockchain technology, but “competitive” from the point of view also of protections compared to existing cryptocurrencies. In this regard, the ECB launched a project in October 2020 related to the creation of a digital euro. So the Frankfurt institute decided to start a phase of practical experimentation (Proof of Concept - PoC) for which, last April, it opened applications to payment service providers, banks and other companies interested in participating in it. The experimentation will aim to test an end-to-end transaction in Euro Digital, starting from a front-end prototype (which will be developed by the candidates) up to the interface with the back-end (managed by the European Central Bank). In this regard, Plus24 has already written about how the Bank of Italy, in collaboration with its German counterpart, is experimenting with some of the segments of this transaction. From Italy, however, Bancomat Spa has also been active as a promoter of a “group” composed of the main member banks (including MPS, BNL, Banco Bpm, Bper Banca, Credem, Iccrea Banca, Intesa Sanpaolo, UniCredit) and Nexi (as a technological partner). So next to the world of cryptocurrencies and stablecoins, in which cryptocurrency It should being linked to assets, the possibility of a currency managed by the European Central Bank is expected. “In this desire to combine cash with digital currency, there is a response to the growing digitalization of payments. We are in an absolute revolution from this point of view,” explains Alessandro Zollo, CEO of Bancomat Spa, who adds: “Strengthened by its know-how and a front-end solution (Bancomat Pay) already present on the market, Bancomat presented a paper to evaluate possible solutions - from a technological provider perspective - to support the payments that will be made with the new currency.” The document presented by the company to illustrate the project explains: “In all the scenarios for the creation of the Digital Euro, regardless of using blockchain technology, the presence of a tool that guarantees the management and movement of digital euros will be required. Bancomat could make the Bancomat Pay service available to host the new Digital Euro operation, thus allowing banks to offer their customers a wallet - Bancomat Pay App or Mobile Banking App - already known, without the need to download additional applications and to have a unique digital wallet for purchases and exchanges of money, regardless of the currency used.” In addition, Zollo adds: “Bancomat, directly or through market solutions, may combine the wallet provider service with a custody solution, which allows users to access their funds and to use them without, however, requiring knowledge of the operating principles of managing private keys and their custody, providing security on the digital assets they own.” Access to funds, in all the scenarios identified so far, is based on the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI): the cryptographic mechanism with an asymmetric key in which a pair of keys, public and private, are generated for each user, which manage access and the customer's account. “There are currently several solutions on the market - explains Zollo - that Bancomat is considering to accelerate the goto-market and support the company in managing user cryptographic keys.” Meanwhile, Bancomat recalls that there is an ongoing debate on the role of banks that could be disintermediated from the role of the European central bank with respect to the digital euro. “The role of an ATM - concludes Zollo - could be a role of aggregator, which could reduce overall costs for banks.”