The European Central Bank published a strategy presentation on modernising central bank money for the digital era, framing its response to digitalisation and rising risks of fragmentation in payments and finance. The Eurosystem’s work is organised around three priorities: a digital euro, new technologies for the settlement of wholesale transactions, and cross-border interlinking. On the digital euro, the ECB described ongoing work to build technical capacity ahead of any issuance decision, including finalising a rulebook with payment providers, merchants and consumers, conducting user research and pilot activities, and developing the system’s technical foundations. For wholesale markets, it referenced exploratory work on using distributed ledger technology (DLT) and tokenisation to settle transactions in central bank money and highlighted the Pontes and Appia projects, alongside initiatives to improve cross-border payments by leveraging the multi-currency feature of the Eurosystem’s instant payments settlement service (TIPS) and by interlinking with fast payment systems outside Europe. The presentation set out indicative milestones: Pontes is expected to link DLT platforms and TARGET Services to enable settlement in central bank money from Q3 2026, a digital euro pilot exercise and initial transactions could start in mid-2027, and the ECB aims to be ready for a potential first issuance during 2029, assuming EU co-legislators adopt a digital euro Regulation in the course of 2026.
European Central Bank 2025-11-24
European Central Bank sets roadmap for digital euro readiness in 2029 and Pontes DLT wholesale settlement from Q3 2026
The European Central Bank plans to modernize central bank money with a digital euro, new wholesale transaction technologies, and cross-border interlinking. Initiatives include developing digital euro capacity, exploring distributed ledger technology and tokenization for wholesale markets, and enhancing cross-border payments through the Eurosystem’s instant payments service. Milestones include linking DLT platforms by Q3 2026, a digital euro pilot by mid-2027, and potential issuance readiness by 2029.