In a public lecture, European Central Bank Executive Board member Piero Cipollone argued that the digital euro and the Eurosystem’s broader payments strategy are intended to reduce Europe’s reliance on non-European payment infrastructures and ensure a euro area-wide digital payment option in central bank money. The speech highlighted euro area dependence on international card schemes, including that two-thirds of euro area card transactions are governed by non-European companies’ business rules and that two-thirds of euro area countries depend entirely on international schemes for in-store payments. It also pointed to rising merchant costs, noting that average net merchant service charges in the EU almost doubled between 2018 and 2022 despite interchange fee caps of 0.2% for debit cards and 0.3% for credit cards, alongside a shift to fee categories outside the cap. Against a backdrop of declining cash use and growing e-commerce, the digital euro was described as a digital form of cash that would be legal tender, usable online and offline across the euro area, supported by EU-based providers, and designed so the Eurosystem cannot identify users, with cash-like privacy for offline transactions. Resilience features cited included geographically distributed infrastructure, continued access through alternative payment service providers if one fails, and offline functionality without internet, phone signal or ATMs. Cipollone also said the Eurosystem would not charge scheme or processing fees for digital euro transactions, with open standards intended to support Europe-wide scaling of European payment solutions, including through co-badging on domestic card schemes and integration into European digital wallets. Next steps cited for the digital euro were completion of the EU legislative process and Eurosystem preparation for a pilot and technical readiness for issuance. For wholesale and tokenised markets, the Eurosystem plans to offer tokenised central bank money from September via the Pontes project, and to develop a blueprint for an integrated tokenised financial ecosystem through the Appia project, alongside work on how private settlement assets such as tokenised deposits and euro-denominated stablecoins issued in Europe could interoperate with central bank money as a stability anchor.
European Central Bank 2026-04-01
European Central Bank positions the digital euro as a sovereignty backstop for retail payments and plans a September rollout of tokenised central bank money under Pontes
The European Central Bank’s Piero Cipollone used a public lecture to present the digital euro and the Eurosystem’s payments strategy as tools to cut reliance on non-European payment infrastructures and offer a euro area-wide digital payment option in central bank money. He cited dependence on international card schemes and rising merchant service charges despite interchange fee caps. He outlined the digital euro’s planned legal tender status, online and offline usability, cash-like privacy for offline use, and absence of Eurosystem scheme or processing fees. Cipollone also described next steps on legislation and piloting, plans to provide tokenised central bank money via the Pontes project, build an integrated tokenised ecosystem through the Appia project, and explore interoperability with private settlement assets such as tokenised deposits and euro-denominated stablecoins.