Digital Euro to Coexist With Cash as Europe Prepares for Possible 2029 Issuance

Key Facts

Piero Cipollone, a member of the European Central Bank’s Executive Board, said the digital euro should coexist with cash as a digital form of money alongside banknotes and coins. He made the remarks in a speech to the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs in Brussels on 10 November 2026. The position places the project within efforts to provide a public means of payment in the digital economy while keeping cash available. Cipollone said the digital version would complement existing cash, as Europe debates the future of payments and the infrastructure on which they depend. Issuing a digital euro remains conditional on the adoption of the necessary legislation, the ECB said.

Cipollone linked the project’s timing to ongoing trilogue negotiations among EU institutions, saying that concluding them quickly could pave the way for adoption of the single-currency package by the end of 2026. Adopting the package would provide the legal certainty needed to complete preparations, according to the speech. The Council of the European Union adopted its position on the draft legislation on 19 December 2025, and the European Parliament adopted its position on the package on 9 July 2026, before trilogue negotiations began. The ECB says it aims to be ready for a possible first issuance in 2029, assuming the necessary regulation is adopted by the end of 2026. That timing does not amount to a final decision to issue the digital euro, which remains contingent on the law being adopted.

Cipollone warned that delays in adopting the package could postpone the digital euro’s launch and increase Europe’s reliance on foreign service providers, while making it harder for European companies to innovate and compete. The debate over payments independence is grounded in market data cited by the ECB: non-European companies process nearly two-thirds of card transactions in the euro area. Thirteen countries in the area also rely entirely on international card schemes or mobile solutions for in-store payments, according to the ECB’s report on the project’s preparation phase. The ECB presents these figures as context for concerns about external reliance in payment systems. Cipollone therefore sees legislative progress as one of the factors that could determine the project’s timing and the position of European service providers in the payments market.

The operational pilot is due to begin in the second half of 2027, involving Eurosystem staff, payment service providers and selected merchants offering day-to-day services. It will use a trial version that does not have legal-tender status to test technical functions, operational procedures and the user experience. In July, the ECB selected 36 payment service providers from more than 50 applicants, including banks and non-bank providers. In September, the ECB opened an additional call for merchants operating online and on mobile, with the aim of testing remote payments. It said the final selection of merchants would be announced in early 2027.

Preparations also include a new round of activities under the innovation platform, running from January to June 2027, to test conditional payments and explore applications of artificial intelligence in payments. The ECB said it intends to make all technically relevant use cases available from the first issuance. A gradual launch could help market participants adapt and give them sufficient time to prepare, according to Cipollone. The approach reflects an effort to combine broad use from the outset with implementation that allows participants to make a smooth transition. These activities will run alongside the pilot planned for the second half of 2027, ahead of the possible issuance date the ECB is preparing for in 2029.

In a parallel effort, Cipollone said a survey on the design of new banknotes had received nearly 10 million responses. The results will help the ECB’s Governing Council select the final design, expected around the end of 2026, while the first denominations in the new series are expected to enter circulation in the early 2030s. Cipollone said the ECB supports strong legislative provisions to ensure the mandatory acceptance of cash and access to it, alongside a resilient cash infrastructure. These positions support keeping cash available as part of the ECB’s vision for the evolution of payments, alongside work on a digital form of the currency. The ECB estimated the cost of developing the digital euro through its first issuance at about 1.3 billion euros, with annual operating costs of around 320 million euros starting in 2029; the final cost will depend on the design and services.