Overview
- European Commission vice president Valdis Dombrovskis urged faster work on a digital euro to reduce dependence on Visa and Mastercard, which handle nearly two-thirds of EU card transactions.
- The Bundesbank said the Eurosystem is preparing for possible issuance in 2029 and expects a legal framework to be in place by the end of 2026, calling that a prerequisite.
- ECB board member Piero Cipollone described the digital euro as retail payments infrastructure for the euro area, with usability online and offline and wallets provided by commercial banks that keep customer payments data.
- EU governments agreed in December on an online and offline digital euro; the European Parliament still must finalize legislation before the ECB can proceed.
- Officials cite a fragmented payments market, high merchant fees, declining cash use, and growing e-commerce as reasons to establish a pan-European, privacy-focused public option.