In an introductory statement to the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, European Central Bank Executive Board member Piero Cipollone provided the ECB’s latest update on the digital euro and argued that resilience and inclusiveness should be treated as core design and legislative requirements. He framed the digital euro as a digital form of cash that would complement physical cash and provide a free, universally accepted means of payment that remains usable during major disruptions. The resilience set-up described includes a transaction-processing infrastructure distributed across at least three regions, an ECB-developed digital euro app available to all users to enable switching between payment service providers and to act as a fallback during provider outages, and offline functionality to allow payments when internet connectivity is disrupted. The ECB has recommended that the legislative framework require payment service providers to support the ECB app and ensure easy and secure offline access, including options such as setting low-value proximity payments to run offline by default and enabling automatic funding of offline holdings. On inclusion, the ECB described ongoing work with associations representing vulnerable groups and user research to build accessibility features such as voice commands, large-font displays and simplified workflows, with the ECB app intended to go beyond the European Accessibility Act; it is also engaging with potential country-level support channels such as local authorities, libraries and post offices to provide free assistance if designated by Member States. Cipollone linked further progress to the EU legislative process being taken forward by the European Commission and the EU Council, arguing that legislative progress would allow the ECB to advance in parallel and provide a clearer timeline for when the digital euro could become a reality. He also referenced the March call by euro area leaders to step up the pace on a digital euro to support a competitive and resilient European payment system and Europe’s economic security.
European Central Bank 2025-09-04
European Central Bank urges lawmakers to embed resilience and inclusion features in digital euro legislation including mandatory support for an ECB app
ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone updated the European Parliament on the digital euro, emphasizing resilience and inclusiveness. The ECB proposes a distributed transaction-processing infrastructure, an ECB-developed app for switching providers and offline payments, and accessibility features for vulnerable groups. Cipollone linked further progress to EU legislative developments, highlighting the need for a competitive and resilient European payment system.