Overview
- The European Payments Initiative, a consortium of 16 major banks, issued a sharply worded letter arguing the digital euro offers no clear added value and could displace private services.
- EPI contends that legal‑tender status may enable fee subsidization and an uneven playing field, and it criticizes the ECB’s design as overly complex and costly.
- The group urges EU lawmakers to reassess the strategy and back European private solutions, including a proposal that merchants accept at least one EU instant‑payment option.
- Wero, EPI’s service, is live for person‑to‑person payments in Belgium, France and Germany with about 45 million users, but its online‑merchant rollout has slipped and current Eventim acceptance is limited to certain bank customers.
- The ECB outlines a path dependent on EU legislation with a pilot targeted for 2027 and earliest possible launch around 2029, while officials such as Bundesbank’s Burkhard Balz emphasize sovereignty, privacy, offline capability and delivery via intermediaries.