Would You Pay with a Digital Euro? Investigating Usage Intention in Central Bank Digital Currency

Abstract

Worldwide, central banks are working on the introduction of Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) as a new form of currency for digital transactions in response to cryptocurrencies and a decrease in cash payments. We investigate usage intention in specific retail CBDC, the digital euro, for the first time, and study the topic from a user-centric perspective. The UTAUT model extended with additional factors identified to be of importance for individuals in digital payment research – trust dimensions and privacy concerns – was used. Our work accounts for 69.2% of the variance in a user's intention to adopt the digital euro in our survey with 303 respondents. The findings suggest that strategic decision-maker should focus on the creation of trust in the currency, underlying technology and the central bank. The digital euro's performance as a payment solution is found to be the most important factor for behavioral intention to use.

Keywords: Central Bank Digital Currency, Digital Euro, CBDC, Technology Adoption, Digital Payment

JEL Classification: G02,