In an interview with Milano Finanza, ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone said payments are a strategic infrastructure and the digital euro would give Europe its own alternative, offering privacy like cash. He noted online payments in Italy grew from 6% of the total in 2019 to 24% in 2024, and two thirds of online card payments use non-European card schemes. He said small merchants can pay fees up to four times higher than large operators, and the digital euro would increase competition and, through legal caps on costs, help reduce fees. The ECB plans a pilot in 2027 with 36 market operators, seven of them Italian, and could roll out the digital euro as early as 2029 if the regulation is approved this year.
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Related tickers and likely impact
EUR/USD
• NeutralRelevance: low
| Market | Currencies |
|---|---|
| Close on 10/23/2026 | 1.12044 |
| Change that session | -0.11% |
Impact is scored by AI from the headline and may be wrong. It is not investment advice.
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