Reuters reports that ECB board member Fabio Panetta said that the ECB could decide around mid-year whether to proceed with a digital euro but the formal launch of the currency may still be around five years away.

If the process gets the go ahead this year, there will a two-year investigation phase and a two to three year implementation phase, Panetta told a conference.

ECB President Christine Lagarde last month said she hoped the digital euro could be read in four years.