ECB may launch digital euro in mid‑2029, Cipollone says
The European Central Bank (ECB) sees mid‑2029 as a realistic target for launching a digital euro, Executive Board member Piero Cipollone said at Bloomberg’s Future of Finance conference in Frankfurt.
Aligning the legal framework remains the key step. The European Parliament, the Council of the EU, and the European Commission aim to finalize their positions by May, after which they will work together on a final law. Once approved, the ECB expects it would take roughly two‑and‑a‑half to three years to roll out the system.
In its current design, the digital euro is a retail payment instrument, central-bank money in electronic form. As Cipollone noted, like any other CBDC, it is not a cryptocurrency or a speculative asset but a digital form of public money with a one‑to‑one value to the euro. It would be available for electronic payments in stores, online, and peer-to-peer transactions.
The ECB says the project could reduce Europe’s reliance on large private payment providers and strengthen the resilience of public payment infrastructure.
Debate continues across the EU over the details. Policymakers are weighing the balance between privacy and compliance, data‑protection mechanisms, potential holding limits, and the role of private intermediaries. Under the plan, banks and fintechs would build consumer apps and manage customer relationships on top of the ECB’s platform.
One concern is how a digital euro might affect bank deposits. In times of stress, it could accelerate outflows, since moving funds into a central‑bank wallet could be easier than withdrawing from a standard fiat deposit.
The ECB has been working on the project for several years. After a research phase in 2021, the central bank moved to a preparation stage in 2023, with a pilot slated for 2026. A final decision will depend on political approval and technical results. Cipollone stresses the goal is not to replace cash or cards but to complement existing payment methods and make them more convenient and reliable across the EU.
If lawmakers coordinate on the stated timeline, the first wallets could appear by mid‑2029.
