In a public conversation at the Festival dell'Economia in Trento, Bank of Italy Deputy Governor Chiara Scotti presented the digital euro as a public European means of payment that would complement, not replace, cash. She said it would be issued by the European Central Bank, offered through private intermediaries, free for basic use by citizens, and usable across the euro area for payments in shops, online, between individuals and potentially offline, with a focus on simplicity, accessibility, privacy and broad acceptance. Scotti said the European Central Bank has started working with Spain's ONCE Foundation to help ensure the digital euro is usable for people with disabilities. She also said it will include a Digital Euro Access Number comparable to an IBAN, allowing users to switch payment service providers while keeping the same identifier. In addition, Bank of Italy will be one of six Eurosystem central banks building the Digital Euro Service Platform that will settle digital euro transactions securely, finally and in real time, with Bank of Italy taking a lead role in the consortium. In the same discussion, she distinguished the digital euro from stablecoins and cryptoassets, describing stablecoins as privately issued and cryptoassets as high-risk investment instruments rather than money.
Bank of Italy2026-05-22
Bank of Italy says digital euro will complement cash and help build the Eurosystem settlement platform
Bank of Italy Deputy Governor Chiara Scotti described the digital euro as a public European means of payment issued by the European Central Bank, distributed via private intermediaries, free for basic use and designed to complement cash with a focus on simplicity, accessibility, privacy and broad acceptance. She highlighted work with Spain’s ONCE Foundation to ensure usability for people with disabilities and the Bank of Italy’s lead role in a six‑central‑bank consortium building the Digital Euro Service Platform for secure real-time settlement. Scotti also distinguished the digital euro from stablecoins and cryptoassets, calling the latter privately issued or high-risk investment instruments rather than money.