European Central Bank Advances Digital Euro Project

According to PANews, European Central Bank (ECB) Executive Board member Piero Cipollone stated that the ECB is advancing its plans to launch a digital euro, aiming to provide a pan-European digital payment solution that complements cash. In a note published on March 13, Cipollone outlined the fundamental design choices and principles behind the digital euro project at the Convgno Innovation Payments conference. He emphasized that the digital euro would bring cash-like functionality to the digital world, allowing for offline use, free basic usage, and privacy-respecting pan-European coverage. Addressing inclusivity issues, Cipollone pointed out that digital euro payments could also be made using physical cards, with users receiving face-to-face technical support and the option to easily switch intermediaries. Selected public entities would act as intermediaries for users without bank accounts. The presentation also claimed that the digital euro would be distributed through supervised payment service providers (PSPs) to maintain a healthy balance between central bank and commercial currencies. PSPs would exclusively distribute the digital euro, strengthening customer relationships and benefiting from open standards. A digital euro rulebook, drafted with the participation of market actors, would establish common standards to ensure pan-European coverage and a unified payment experience while allowing for the development of innovative solutions. Notably, the presentation showed that there would be limits on how much retail users could hold, but no restrictions for businesses, indicating that retail users' digital euro holdings would be limited, while companies would not be restricted. According to the presentation, the digital euro project has passed the initial investigation phase (October 2021 to October 2023), focusing on concept definition, technical exploration, and design proposals. The current preparation phase (November 2023 to October 2025) includes finalizing the rulebook, selecting service providers, learning through experimentation, and further research on offline functionality and testing and deployment plans. The ECB will only consider issuing a digital euro after the EU's legislative process is completed. However, the digital euro could be launched in November 2025.