ECB's Cipollone says digital euro will complement cash, not replace it, with launch poss…

ECB's Cipollone says digital euro will complement cash, not replace it, with launch poss…

The European Central Bank aims to launch a digital euro by 2029 to complement cash, not replace it, Executive Board member Piero Cipollone said in an interview with Corriere della Sera published on 23 September 2026. He said the project will offer a public alternative to card payments, potentially halving acceptance costs for small merchants, and that a pilot with 36 selected participants will begin testing next year.

Key facts

Why is the ECB building a digital euro?

Cipollone, a member of the ECB's Executive Board, said the digital euro is intended to sit alongside banknotes, pointing to the ECB's work on a new series of euro banknotes with updated designs and anti-counterfeiting features as evidence that cash will remain. He stressed that the digital euro will offer the same high level of security as cash and will be free for individuals to use.

He argued that the project has solid foundations because public trust in the euro is strong, with support above 80% in the latest Eurobarometer survey. In a digital age in which people carry phones, he said, it would be strange not to complement euro banknotes with a digital form of cash.

How would it change payments for merchants and consumers?

Cipollone said the digital euro differs fundamentally from existing payment methods such as Visa, Mastercard, Satispay and PayPal. He said merchants often have no real alternative when accepting card payments and face fees that are opaque and frequently high, which eat into already tight margins and are ultimately passed on to consumers through prices.

With the digital euro, merchants would gain a public alternative, and for small merchants the cost of accepting digital payments could be halved, he said. The digital euro could also be integrated into European private payment solutions, allowing them to be used throughout the euro area, including in places where they are not currently accepted. He noted that in Italy, Satispay and Bancomat are already taking part in the ECB's work.

For people without a phone, Cipollone said a card will be available, and payments will be possible offline, without an internet connection or intermediaries, so that money can pass from one device to another like cash but in digital form, even if the power goes out or the internet is down.

Where does the project stand?

Cipollone said the pilot project was launched in the summer and the first tests will start next year, with the first payments being made in less than 12 months. He cautioned that important legislative debates are under way in Brussels to establish the European legislation needed to begin, and that not everything is up to the ECB. He said the legislative text should be ready by the end of the year.

In the meantime, the ECB has not stood still: in April it signed agreements to establish the technical standards, and in May it received nearly 60 applications to take part in next year's pilot, including from several Italian banks, of which 36 were selected.

What role does geopolitics play?

Cipollone said geopolitics has certainly played a role in accelerating the project. Russia's invasion of Ukraine had already focused attention in Europe on strategic autonomy, starting with energy dependency, particularly regarding natural gas, before the realisation that similar vulnerabilities exist in other strategic sectors. Without its own digital payment system, he said, Europe is at the mercy of other operators.

Asked whether he meant the new Trump administration, which has taken a different tack on digital payments, Cipollone said what matters is that the ECB is building a digital infrastructure for European citizens, a network and a scheme with no room for error, because it concerns the money and deposits of citizens and firms. He said having European technology is no small matter, given frequent complaints that the EU has no presence in these areas, and that checks and trials have been under way for some time.

He also stressed that the digital euro will have to be accepted by every merchant that accepts digital payments, including in shops, as though it were cash, with the same standards of security, resilience and reliability. He said many shopkeepers and firms will have to update their systems in the coming years, and the ECB must ensure the digital euro is incorporated easily and naturally into normal update cycles. In parallel, the ECB is developing an innovation platform that will enable even more advanced services based on the digital euro.

What happens next?

The ECB's pilot will begin testing next year, with the first payments expected in less than 12 months, while EU legislators aim to finalise the legal framework by the end of the year. Cipollone's remarks suggest the ECB is preparing for a possible launch in 2029, but the timeline depends on the legislative process and on the outcome of the tests.

Source: European Central Bank

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