Towards acceptance criteria for a digital euro

Alongside other central banks, the European Central Bank (ECB) is currently exploring the potential of a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). Such a significant payment innovation requires compliance with the ECB's mandate based on the Treaties of the European Union, in addition to socio-technical and socioeconomic considerations. Thus, Information Systems (IS) researchers might witness and actively participate in one of the most important changes associated to currency-related fundamental rights in our time in the euro area. IS research can provide useful insights into technology acceptance criteria of a CBDC, which is a novel and unfamiliar technology for most people, and help identify requirements. Our paper provides an overview of the current state of development. Furthermore, we present a Technology Acceptance Model - based vignette study (N = 207) and derive design principles for a prospective digital euro (PDE). The results of the study show that acceptance by the German population can be assumed. However, there are significant differences depending on the final design choices.