The Central Bank of Montenegro reported on a governors’ panel at the Adria Future Summit 2026 on “The Future of Money in Digital Europe”, where Governor Irena Radovic positioned the digital euro as a step in the evolution of Europe’s financial architecture and argued that early interoperability with emerging European financial systems is strategically important for Montenegro. She linked deeper integration into European payments infrastructure to lower transaction costs and greater competition in payment services, and noted that Montenegro has asked European institutions to consider it as a pilot jurisdiction for applying the digital euro in non-euro area and non-European Union countries that use the euro. In outlining Montenegro’s readiness, Radovic pointed to existing integration with the European payments ecosystem through SEPA and ongoing development of instant payment infrastructure aligned with the Eurosystem (TIPS Clone), framing Montenegro as a suitable test environment for cross-border usability, interoperability and inclusiveness in a fully euroised economy. Bank of Slovenia Governor Primož Dolenc highlighted the digital euro’s potential to bring central bank money into the digital age while supporting a resilient European payments infrastructure, while Bank of Estonia Governor Madis Müller, also a member of the European Central Bank’s Governing Council, cited Estonia’s reliance on international card schemes for at least 70% of in-store payments and described the digital euro as a complementary “digital cash” payment rail that could strengthen overall payment system robustness.
Central Bank of Montenegro 2026-04-22
Central Bank of Montenegro promotes early digital euro interoperability and a pilot role for Montenegro at the Adria Future Summit
The Central Bank of Montenegro reported that Governor Irena Radovic used a governors’ panel at the Adria Future Summit 2026 to present the digital euro as a key step in Europe’s financial architecture and strategically important for Montenegro, which has asked European institutions to consider it as a pilot jurisdiction for non-euro area and non-EU countries using the euro. She cited Montenegro’s integration with the European payments ecosystem through the Single Euro Payments Area and instant payment infrastructure aligned with the Eurosystem as evidence of readiness, while the Governors of the Bank of Slovenia and Bank of Estonia highlighted the digital euro’s potential to modernise central bank money and enhance payment system resilience as a complementary “digital cash” rail.