The European Central Bank (ECB) has published its new holistic payments strategy for the Eurosystem, responding to the swift pace of digitalisation and breakthroughs in technologies such as distributed ledger technology and tokenization. The plan sets out a clear dual-track vision: upgrading today’s payment systems while actively encouraging fresh, market-driven alternatives.
Covering wholesale, business-to-business, retail and cross-border flows, the strategy deliberately excludes cash, which remains the focus of a separate initiative.
Four interlocking goals guide the work.
First, the Eurosystem will keep central bank money as the trusted anchor of the two-tier monetary system, safeguarding monetary policy transmission, financial stability and the singleness of money across both digital and conventional channels.
Second, the strategy aims to strengthen Europe’s strategic autonomy and resilience by reducing heavy dependence on a handful of non-European providers and shielding the system from geopolitical risks and cyber threats.
Third, it seeks to build a more unified, competitive and inventive payments marketplace that lowers costs, improves user experience and supports wider EU objectives such as the savings and investments union.
Fourth, efficient euro payment rails will help reinforce the currency’s global standing, cutting borrowing costs and shielding users from external pressures.
A cornerstone is the creation of a European market for tokenised settlement assets.
Tokenization promises programmable, transparent and faster transactions, yet the Eurosystem insists that central bank money must remain the ultimate risk-free anchor.
This will be paired with properly regulated, euro-denominated private instruments such as tokenised deposits and stablecoins subject to EU oversight.
In wholesale payments, the Eurosystem will modernise its real-time gross settlement system T2—potentially lengthening its operating window—while rolling out DLT-compatible solutions.
Two flagship projects lead the effort: Pontes will deliver central-bank-money settlement for DLT-based wholesale transactions by the end of the third quarter of 2026, and Appia will test infrastructure for issuing, trading and settling programmable tokenized assets.
Both initiatives are designed to ensure interoperability between public and private settlement forms, preserving the singleness of money and preventing fragmented silos.
Business-to-business payments, the backbone of daily commerce, will gain from deeper standardization, automation and tighter integration with corporate systems.
The Eurosystem plans closer dialogue with companies and service providers to unlock conditional payments and richer transaction data, making reconciliation, invoicing and liquidity management smoother.
The instant-payment platform TIPS—already available 24/7 in central bank money—will be further enhanced to serve corporate needs, while the Euro Retail Payments Board receives a stronger mandate to drive pan-European solutions.
Retail payments remain fragmented, with many euro-area countries still relying on non-European schemes.
To counter this, the digital euro project will bring central bank money into everyday digital use as a public good—universally accessible, free for basic services, privacy-focused and resilient even offline.
Following the Governing Council’s October 2025 decision, the project has entered its next preparation phase; a possible launch is targeted for 2029 once legislation is adopted, with pilot transactions potentially beginning in mid-2027.
The digital euro will coexist with and amplify private pan-European offerings, such as the European Payments Initiative’s Wero wallet, helping standardise point-of-interaction acceptance and giving merchants and consumers genuine choice.
Cross-border payments outside the EU will advance through the G20 roadmap.
The Eurosystem will expand fast-payment linkages and harness tokenisation to deliver faster, cheaper, more transparent and inclusive international transfers.
Officials stress that the strategy will be kept under constant review and adjusted as market and technological conditions evolve.
By anchoring innovation in central bank money while enabling competitive European solutions, the Eurosystem intends to deliver greater sovereignty, resilience and tangible benefits for citizens, businesses and the broader euro-area economy.
