ECB warns about Europe's dependence on external payments and supports the introduction of the digital euro

The European Central Bank presents the digital euro as a response to the euro area's dependence on non-European payment infrastructures and a resilience tool for daily payments, at a time when legislative and technical preparations are entering a more advanced stage.

The European Central Bank is also strengthening the public argument in favor of the digital euro, presenting the project as an instrument of economic sovereignty, resilience, and continuity of payments in the euro area. In a presentation held on March 21, ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone argued that Europe's dependence on international card schemes and the shift of payments online creates new pressure for the introduction of a digital form of public money.

In short

The ECB states that the digital euro is necessary to reduce Europe's dependence on non-European payment infrastructures.

The institution presents the digital euro as a digital form of cash, complementary to cash money, available for online and offline payments.

The ECB argues that the project would benefit consumers, merchants, and payment service providers.

A 12-month pilot is planned for the second half of 2027, but the decision on issuing the digital euro will be made only after the legislation is adopted.

The key message of the ECB is based on the current structure of the retail payments market in Europe. According to data presented by Cipollone, 15 out of 21 countries do not have a significantly used internal solution for digital payments in stores, and nearly two-thirds of card transactions in the euro area are processed by international card schemes. In this logic, the ECB argues that the digital euro would provide an additional valid payment option across the euro area for all use cases.

The institution links this argument to the transformation of consumer payment behavior. In the presentation, the digital euro is defined as a digital form of cash, and its role is described through three main functions: complementing cash, providing freedom of choice between cash and digital payments, and maintaining access to public money as payments increasingly move online. A chart from the presentation shows that Finland is one of the leading countries in adopting digital payments, an illustration used by the ECB to support the idea that public money must follow this shift to the digital environment.

Piero Cipollone explicitly formulated the argument of strategic autonomy as well. "The urgency of maintaining resilience and autonomy of Europe's critical infrastructures is clear. Ensuring strategic autonomy and resilience in everyday payments is equally urgent," said the ECB official.

The ECB is trying to broaden the support base for the project by presenting a distinct set of benefits for each category of users. For consumers, the institution invokes freedom of choice, protection of privacy and data, as well as an inclusive and accessible digital payment means. For merchants, the emphasis is on lower fees and greater negotiating power, especially for small businesses, as well as on instant fund settlement. For payment service providers, the ECB talks about maintaining customer relationships and fair compensation ensured through the compensation model. The presentation adds that the digital euro would be available both online and offline, including in cases of limited connectivity or power outages.

Another important element of the presentation is the proposed implementation model. The ECB describes the digital euro as a public-private partnership in which internal and regional solutions would adopt the digital euro standards and achieve pan-European expansion without massive additional investments. In this model, the digital euro would function as a common European infrastructure for digital payments, over which existing players could build compatible services and products.

Technically, the Eurosystem is preparing a 12-month pilot that would start in the second half of 2027, in a controlled environment but with real transactions. A limited number of payment service providers, merchants, and Eurosystem staff members will participate, and the selection of providers is set to begin in the first quarter of 2026. The ECB states that the pilot will test four scenarios: online person-to-person transactions using an alias or access number, offline person-to-person transactions via near-field communication, online payments at the point of sale via near-field communication, and online payments in e-commerce or mobile using an alias or access number. The objectives are to verify readiness before scaling, improve the value proposition, adjust the launch strategy, and prepare for a potential market introduction.

However, the ECB maintains a clear distinction between project preparation and the actual issuance decision. The institution specifies that the decision regarding the launch of the digital euro will be analyzed by the Governing Council only after the legislation is adopted. At the same time, the ECB welcomes the agreement reached by the Council of the European Union on its negotiating position regarding the proposed regulation, contributions from several member states, including Finland, and discussions in the European Parliament, where a conclusive position is expected in May.

The broader context of the presentation is the advanced phase of preparations for the digital euro, following the closure of the preparation phase described by the ECB in 2025 and against the backdrop of accelerating legislative discussions at the Council and European Parliament level. Cipollone's presentation shows that the ECB is trying to redefine the project not only as a tool for modernizing payments but also as a response to Europe's external dependencies, the rapid digitization of retail payments, and the need for public money to remain present in an increasingly digital economy.

https://2eu.brussels/ro/stiri/bce-avertizeaza-asupra-dependentei-europei-de-plati-externe-si-sustine-introducerea-euro-digital