REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Oct 18 (Reuters) - The European Union's data protection watchdog on Wednesday called for stronger privacy safeguards in EU draft legislation to underpin a digital euro. Approval of the draft law has been slowed down to give more time to address concerns that the digital euro will lack the anonymity of cash for low-value transactions. The draft law should also "further clarify" the data protection responsibilities of the ECB and of payments services providers (PSP). The board said it strongly welcomed that digital euro users will always have the choice to pay in digital euros or in cash. “A high standard of privacy and data protection is instrumental in citizens' trust in this new digital currency," said Irene Loizidou Nicolaidou, the EDPB's deputy chair.

---

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Irene Loizidou Nicolaidou, Huw Jones, Bernadette Baum, Jane Merriman Organizations: REUTERS, European Central Bank, European Commission, Data Protection, ECB, PSP, Thomson