Piero Cipollone, a member of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) Executive Board, addressed the Generali Executive Series on the accelerating digital transformation of money, payments, and finance. His remarks highlighted how technological shifts are reshaping the payments landscape and outlined the Eurosystem’s strategic response to foster integration, key advancements, and resilience.
Cipollone noted that payments are evolving rapidly due to widespread digitalisation and emerging technologies such as distributed ledger technology (DLT).
These changes demand a proactive approach to build a cohesive European payments market that supports competition, reduces external dependencies, and strengthens overall system resilience.
The ECB’s comprehensive payments strategy provides clear direction for this evolution.
Its core goals are to create an integrated, forward-looking payments environment, preserve the smooth transmission of monetary policy and financial stability, and ensure uninterrupted operation of payment systems.
All related policies and projects are aligned under this single, coherent framework.
A flagship element is the digital euro, conceived as a digital form of cash for everyday retail use.
Accessible online and offline across the euro area, it would complement physical cash and give citizens and businesses greater freedom to choose between the two.
Distribution would center on EU-licensed payment service providers, with banks playing a central role to maintain trusted customer relationships.
Proper and adequate safeguards—such as holding limits, no interest on balances, controlled funding and defunding options, and no holdings for businesses—would protect financial stability.
Banks would receive fair compensation for their distribution efforts, while standardized acceptance networks and co-badging would create valuable synergies with existing private solutions.
Positioned as public infrastructure, the digital euro would set open standards that private providers can build upon, enabling domestic and regional solutions to achieve seamless pan-European reach without major new investments.
This approach supports innovation while keeping central bank money at the heart of the retail payment system.
Project timelines are advancing steadily.
Following earlier investigation and preparation phases focused on design, testing, and experimentation, the current phase emphasizes technical readiness, deeper market dialogue, and support for the legislative process.
A 12-month pilot is planned to start in the second half of 2027.
The ECB aims to be ready for potential issuance in 2029, though any final decision will follow adoption of the necessary EU regulation.
The pilot itself does not prejudge that outcome. Cipollone also examined tokenisation in wholesale and capital markets.
Current systems suffer from fragmented ledgers, differing national rules on custody and taxation, and incompatible technologies that trap liquidity in silos. DLT-based shared and interoperable ledgers could deliver greater efficiency, faster processes, and new opportunities for issuers, intermediaries, and investors.
The Eurosystem is responding with tokenised central bank money to serve as a safe, final settlement anchor alongside private assets.
Pontes, launching in September 2026, will connect DLT platforms directly to TARGET services. Appia, a public-private partnership, will develop a broader tokenised ecosystem, with a detailed blueprint expected in 2028.
These tools address scalability limits of stablecoins, mitigate disintermediation risks, ensure regulatory compliance, and promote integrated, liquid markets for digital assets.
Finally, the ECB continues work on cross-border payments in line with G20 objectives.
Efforts include linking the TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS) system with fast-payment platforms outside Europe through bilateral and multilateral connections, and participating in the Bank for International Settlements’ Project Agorá to test multi-currency settlement platforms.
Through these coordinated initiatives, the ECB is now said to be preparing the euro area’s payment and financial infrastructure for a more digital future while safeguarding stability, efficiency, and public trust in central bank money.