Piero Cipollone: Interview with Milano Finanza
Mr Cipollone recently participated in an Executive Committee meeting of the Italian Banking Association. The discussions centered around tokenisation, with an update provided on the progress of internal preparations within the Eurosystem regarding the digital euro. As payments have become a primary focus area in his role at the ECB, the importance of payments for Europe’s future became clear.
They serve as a strategic infrastructure, and ensuring their smooth functioning is part of the central bank’s mandate. The digital euro would fill the gap where cash cannot be used, providing a secure form of public money that protects privacy and is accepted throughout the euro area. This would increase competition, reduce fees for small merchants, and allow payments even during power cuts or in remote areas.
The final decision on the digital euro will be made once the legislative negotiations in Brussels are concluded, with a pilot launch planned for 2027.
Written by urgent.news from ECB Press's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
