On June 5, 2014 the European Central Bank adopted a negative interest rate policy for the 18 euro currency nations, a measure designed to stimulate the economy. However, because this policy may ultimately affect commercial bank customers in the form of zero interest paid on deposits and fees charged for accounts, the ECB is also concerned about large-scale withdrawals from the banking system. What to do? This column points to Miles Kimball’s position that if paper money could be all but eliminated in favor of electronic money, “the so-called zero lower bound on interest rates would no longer exist, and central banks could easily set negative interest rates in a depressed economy to encourage more spending and investment.”

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