PARIS (Reuters) - The world's financial regulators will not sacrifice customers' security for the sake of innovation, Bank of France head and European Central Bank policymaker Francois Villeroy de Galhau said on Thursday.
The finance ministers from the Group of Seven's leading world nations cast a cloud over prospects for Facebook's Libra digital coin on Wednesday, insisting tough regulatory problems would have to be worked out first.
"Financial regulators are favourable towards innovation. But that cannot come to the detriment of the security of the consumer," Villeroy told BFM Business broadcaster.
Villeroy said regulators wanted "answers" to their areas of doubt over Libra by October.
Facebook's plan to launch a digital coin has met with a chorus of criticism and concern from regulators, central bankers and governments, saying it must respect anti-money laundering rules and ensure the security of transactions and user data.
There are also deeper concerns that the powers of big tech companies are increasingly encroaching upon areas belonging to governments, such as the issuance of currency.
(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Yann Le Guernigou)
