Digital Euro: ECB Explains Plans and Benefits for Citizens and Businesses

The European Central Bank (ECB) plans to introduce a digital euro, which will be a “digital version of cash”, combining the advantages of physical money with the possibilities of the digital environment, said Piero Cipollone, a member of the ECB's Executive Board, in an interview with the Cyprus News Agency.

Benefits for citizens:

• Simplicity: A single means of payment for payments anywhere in the EU, online and offline.
• Accessibility: Guaranteeing the preservation of citizens' freedom to pay with money issued by the central bank, including in the absence of internet or electricity.

Benefits for businesses:

• Cost reduction: Especially useful for small and medium-sized enterprises by reducing fees for payment schemes.
• Competition: Strengthening competition in the market.

Strategic importance for the EU:

• Autonomy: Reducing dependence on external providers for processing card payments (70% of which are currently processed by non-European companies).

Implementation process:

• Legislation: The European Parliament is expected to adopt its position in May 2026, followed by inter-institutional negotiations.
• Technical preparation: The ECB and the Eurosystem are working on the technical preparation.
• Deadline: Introduction by mid-2029, if a legal framework is adopted.
• Pilot project: Planned launch of a pilot project with limited payments in 2027.

Protection and regulation:

• Limits: There will be limits on holdings.
• Personal data protection: For online payments, the ECB will not have information about the identity of payers and recipients.
• Mechanism: Payments will be made through a mechanism in which funds are transferred from the bank account to the digital wallet at the time of payment.
• Restrictions: Only natural persons will be able to hold digital euros, not merchants.
• Financial stability: ECB analyses show that even with higher limits, no risks to financial stability are expected.

Impact on the euro and inflation:

• Assessment: The ECB will assess the effect of the appreciation of the euro on consumer price dynamics within its quarterly macroeconomic forecasts.
• Exchange rate: The exchange rate is taken into account as one of the elements in the preparation of inflation forecasts, but the ECB does not have a specific target for the exchange rate of the single currency.