The European Central Bank is preparing to test a digital euro in real transactions next year, with a potential wider launch as early as 2029 if European Union legislation is adopted this year. Piero Cipollone, an ECB Executive Board member, said the project could give Europe greater control over an essential payment infrastructure currently reliant on non-European providers.
Pilot planned for 2027
According to Cointelegraph, Cipollone said the pilot would involve real transactions conducted by ECB and national central bank staff. The central bank is also inviting e-commerce and mobile-commerce companies to take part in preparations for the test.
Thirty-six market operators are working with the ECB on the project, including seven from Italy. The pilot is intended to move the digital euro beyond a purely technical exercise by examining how it could function in practical payments.
A digital euro would be a central bank digital currency, meaning an electronic form of money issued by the central bank rather than a privately created cryptoasset. The ECB’s Governing Council, however, cannot decide to issue it until legislative negotiations in Brussels are completed.
‘Sovereignty’ over a critical service
Cipollone argued that Europe’s dependence on outside providers creates a vulnerability because the smooth operation of payments cannot be guaranteed as easily when the infrastructure relies heavily on third parties. He compared payments with other areas in which Europe has become more focused on its ability to act independently, including energy and defense.
He said sovereignty would not require excluding external companies from the European payments market. Instead, he described it as having the ability to choose and ensuring that Europe could rely on its own capabilities for an essential service.
In an April lecture in Latvia, Cipollone said non-European companies control two-thirds of card transactions in the euro area. The digital euro, in his view, could help reduce that dependence by creating payment infrastructure under European control.
Legislation remains the next step
The timing of a launch depends on the outcome of EU legislative negotiations. Cipollone said the ECB hopes the relevant regulation will be approved by the end of the year. That would allow the Governing Council to make a formal decision on whether to issue the digital currency.
The current timetable points to testing in 2027 and a possible rollout as early as 2029. Those milestones are therefore conditional rather than confirmed launch dates: the legislation must be completed before the ECB can take the formal issuance decision.
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