ECB's Cipollone says digital euro pilot set for 2027, rollout possible as early as 2029
In brief
- Real digital euro transactions will be tested in 2027, Cipollone said.
- Digital euro rollout could come as early as 2029, pending EU legislation this year.
- 36 market operators, seven from Italy, are helping prepare the pilot.
- Non-European companies govern two-thirds of euro-area card transactions, Cipollone said.
A pilot built on staff transactions
Cipollone made the remarks in an interview with Italy's Milano Finance, which the central bank published on Saturday, Cointelegraph reported. The pilot, set for next year, will use real transactions by ECB and national central bank staff.
It's not a small group, either. According to the ECB (as reported by Cointelegraph), 36 market operators, including seven from Italy, are collaborating on preparations, and the ECB is inviting e-commerce and mobile-commerce operators to participate.
The sovereignty argument
Cipollone didn't name the third parties he had in mind. He did put payments in the same category as energy and defense, essential services where he said Europe can't rely only on outsiders.
"In recent years Europe has learned that, for some essential services, we cannot rely only on third parties. We saw this with energy and we’re seeing it today with defense. And the same is true for payments"
Sovereignty doesn't mean shutting third parties out, he said. The argument isn't new for him. In an April public lecture in Latvia, Cipollone said Europe's reliance on non-European payment providers created a strategic vulnerability, and he said two-thirds of euro-area card transactions are governed by non-European companies. In his telling, the digital euro could reduce that dependence and provide European-controlled payment infrastructure.
Brussels holds the timeline
Nothing launches without lawmakers.
The ECB Governing Council can only decide on issuing a digital euro after legislative negotiations in Brussels conclude. Cipollone said he hopes the regulation will be adopted by the end of the year (that's his stated hope, not a settled outcome), which would let the Governing Council make a formal decision on issuance.
That makes the 2029 date conditional. It depends on a legislative process that sits in Brussels, not with the central bank, and the Governing Council can't move to issuance until that process wraps up.
Frequently asked questions
When could the digital euro launch?
ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone said the bloc is on track to test real transactions in 2027 and could roll out a digital euro as early as 2029. That timeline depends on EU legislation being passed this year.
Who is taking part in the digital euro pilot?
The pilot will use real transactions by ECB and national central bank staff. According to the ECB, 36 market operators, including seven from Italy, are collaborating on preparations, and the ECB is inviting e-commerce and mobile-commerce operators to participate.
Why does the ECB link the digital euro to sovereignty?
Cipollone said Europe's reliance on non-European payment providers creates a strategic vulnerability, citing two-thirds of euro-area card transactions being governed by non-European companies. He said the digital euro could reduce that dependence, though sovereignty doesn't mean shutting third parties out.
