Investigating privacy concerns and trust in the digital Euro in Germany

This work analyzes the influence of privacy concerns and different dimensions of currency-related trust on individuals' willingness to use Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), specifically a digital euro. A quantitative survey with 1034 respondents was analyzed using partial least squares structural equation model (PLS-SEM). Empirical results indicate that multiple antecedents are associated with privacy concerns in the digital euro that in turn influence intention to adopt a digital euro. Especially soft trust factors such as credibility and image are found to influence both privacy concerns and the intention to adopt a digital euro. It contributes to the current literature by introducing trust as a second-order construct composed of hard and soft trust factors for digital currencies. The results provide valuable insights for researchers and practitioners aiming at designing and implementing CBDCs by demonstrating which factors need to be considered in order to achieve widespread adoption by citizens.