⁍ The EU will introduce new rules within four years to make cross-border payments quicker and cheaper through the use of blockchain and crypto assets like stablecoins.

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⁍ The European Commission is due to set out its strategy for encouraging greater use of digital finance.

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⁍ It also wants a rapid shift to ‘instant’ payments generally as pandemic lockdowns showed the growing role of cashless payments.

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– The European Union plans to introduce new rules within four years to make cross-border payments cheaper and quicker through the use of blockchain and crypto assets like stablecoins, Reuters reports. According to two EU documents seen by Reuters, the EU Commission will present a draft law to clarify how existing rules apply to crypto assets and set out new rules where there are gaps. “By 2024, the EU should put in place a comprehensive framework enabling the uptake of distributed ledger technology (DLT) and crypto-assets in the financial sector,” the documents say. “It should also address the risks associated with these technologies.” Stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency often backed by traditional assets, jumped onto policymakers’ agendas last year when Facebook revealed plans for its Libra token. Central banks are now studying whether to launch their own. Instant payments should become the “new normal” by the end of 2021. Instant payments are suitable for many uses beyond traditional credit transfers, in particular for physical and online purchases, which are currently dominated by payment card schemes. Europe has long sought “home grown” alternatives to the likes of MasterCard and Visa, the US payments firms heavily used in the region.