UPDATE 1-ECB’s Valimaki: digital euro will not be an investment object

A digital euro would allow consumers in Europe to pay with central bank money but it would not be an investment object similar to cryptocurrencies, Bank of Finland board member Tuomas Valimaki said on Thursday. On Wednesday, the European Central Bank took a further step towards launching a digital version of the euro that would let people in the 20 countries that share the single currency make electronic payments securely and free of charge. Valimaki said the ECB's intention is that individuals, rather than companies, could have a digital euro account with a limit to its balance.