Piero Cipollone: Interview with Milano Finanza

The digital euro is a proposed electronic form of central-bank money. Today, people can use central-bank money only as cash. The digital euro would extend cash-like qualities, including privacy and broad payment acceptance, to online purchases. This matters because more economic activity is moving online, where banknotes cannot be used.

A bank card normally lets customers access money held in a commercial bank account and relies on a card scheme or payment network. The digital euro would be an instrument for paying directly with public money. It is intended to work across the euro area and cover everyday payment needs, including digital purchases.

The project would not replace cash or exclude banks and payment operators. It would add a European alternative. The ECB says it is preparing infrastructure while legislation is negotiated in Brussels. If the regulation is adopted, issuance could be formally decided by the Governing Council and rollout could begin as early as 2029.

The Eurosystem plans to test the digital euro in 2027. The pilot will use real transactions made by ECB and national central-bank staff. This is designed to test the technology under real conditions and help build the system with market participants. A full rollout could happen as early as 2029, but only if the regulation is approved this year.

The immediate condition is completion of legislative negotiations in Brussels. Once the regulation is adopted, the ECB can complete the rulebook with technical requirements. Those rules would give banks, payment operators and merchants time to adapt their systems and processes before launch.

The ECB cannot issue the digital euro before the legal process ends. After adoption, its Governing Council can make a formal decision on issuance. Meanwhile, 36 market operators, including seven Italian firms, are already involved in preparations. The ECB is also seeking participation from e-commerce and mobile-commerce operators.

Italy’s online payments quadrupled as a share of total payments, rising from 6% in 2019 to 24% in 2024. Piero Cipollone expects the share to have increased further since then. This growth makes digital payment infrastructure increasingly important to everyday economic activity.

Most online purchases are normally paid for by card. Two-thirds of those card payments use non-European card schemes. In many euro-area countries, dependence reaches beyond online shopping. Physical stores also rely on non-European operators because they lack a local system comparable to Italy’s Bancomat.

That dependence means Europe relies heavily on infrastructure it does not directly control. The digital euro is presented as a European alternative for secure public-money payments. It would not shut out third parties, Cipollone said. Instead, it would give Europe more choice and resilience for an essential service.

The digital euro could change the payment market for small merchants. Cipollone says small shops can currently pay fees up to four times higher than large operators. Their weaker negotiating position leaves them more exposed to the costs charged by existing payment providers and networks.

A European digital payment option would give merchants another route for accepting payments. More choice can increase competition between providers. The legislation would also set caps on costs. Together, competition and legal limits are intended to reduce fees for businesses that cannot negotiate large-operator rates.

The effect depends on adoption by merchants, banks, payment operators and customers. The ECB is already preparing infrastructure and involving market participants. Thirty-six operators, including seven Italian ones, are collaborating in the preparatory work. E-commerce and mobile-commerce operators are now being invited to participate, widening the potential reach beyond physical shops.

The supplied article excerpt does not explain the proposed limit on digital-euro holdings. It ends with the question, “Will there be a limit on holding,” before giving an answer. Therefore, it provides no figure, rule or stated safeguard to cite about this issue.

As established background, a holding limit on a central-bank digital currency can reduce the amount people move from commercial-bank deposits into digital central-bank money. That can help prevent sudden deposit outflows, which could otherwise pressure banks’ funding and liquidity. The exact protection depends on the final design and legislation.

A holding limit need not cap spending. In a commonly proposed arrangement, users could pay more than their stored balance by linking the digital euro to a bank account, with funds transferred when needed. The article does not confirm that mechanism. Its stated next step is legislative agreement, followed by technical rules and a formal ECB issuance decision.

The supplied interview does not say how the digital euro would work during a power cut or without a reliable internet connection. It only explains that cash works in physical settings and that the digital euro would fill the gap where banknotes cannot be used, especially online.

As established background, a digital payment system can be designed for limited offline, device-to-device payments. Such a feature could let people pay without an active internet connection, provided their devices still have power and the system’s final rules support it. Cash would remain the clearest non-internet alternative described in the article.

The article does not confirm whether offline payments will be included, how long they would work, or whether they would function during a widespread power outage. Those details should not be treated as settled. The ECB is still preparing infrastructure, while legislation and technical rules remain under discussion.

Central-bank money is money issued by a central bank. In the article, the current public form available to people is cash, issued within the Eurosystem’s monetary system. A digital euro would extend that public-money role into online payments. Commercial-bank account balances are bank money: claims customers hold against their banks, used through cards, transfers and other systems.

The distinction matters because payment access depends on infrastructure. People may think about what they buy, not how the payment works, but Cipollone says the economy stops if payment systems stop. A digital euro would provide a European public-money option alongside existing private payment services.

Europe currently relies heavily on non-European card schemes. Two-thirds of card payments use them, and many countries depend on them in physical shops too. The ECB presents the digital euro as a way to preserve choice and help ensure smooth payments without excluding third-party providers.