According to Cointelegraph, the Bank of Finland (BOF) is working on the development of a Finnish instant payment solution that aligns with European standards. BOF board member and member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) Tuomas Välimäki announced the initiative on October 19. Välimäki stated that the Bank of Finland is actively promoting new forms of payment, with the digital euro being the most significant project in the European payment sector. He added that the potential introduction of a digital euro would provide consumers with the option to pay using central bank money wherever electronic payment is accepted.
Välimäki also mentioned that the Bank of Finland and the European Payments Council are involved in creating the Finnish instant payment solution, which will be based on credit transfer and not rely on payment card rails. In February 2023, Finnish company Membrane Finance released a fully reserved stablecoin backed by the euro. Membrane Finance CEO Juha Viitala expressed hope that the regulated EUROe coin would encourage more Europeans to grow their wealth through decentralized finance (DeFi) applications. The governing council of the European Central Bank (ECB) recently announced the start of the 'preparation phase' for the digital euro project, which will last two years and focus on finalizing rules for the digital currency and selecting possible issuers.
