## SPEECH
### Europe's money evolves so people's freedom to pay remains
Introductory statement by Piero Cipollone, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the European Parliament
Brussels,3June2026
Iampleasedtobebackhere againtodiscussthedigitaleuro
I am encouraged by the good progress being made on the Single Currency Package negotiations by important initiativeinthenearfuture.
a few months ago in your resolution on the ECB Annual Report.1l I will then focus on two key updates onthedigitaleuroprojectsinceourlast meetinginMarch:first,theagreementswehavesignedwith European standard-setting bodies and, second, further preparations for next year's piloting exercise.
## Strengthening people's freedom to use cash
digital euro are the same money-they just use different technologies. will be based on either "European culture" or "Rivers and birds", 3] we expect to have decided on the final theme by the end of this year. We are preparing to issue the first denominations of the new series of banknotes in the early 2030s. They will incorporate enhanced security features and be produced using more sustainable materials and production methods. As I said, together, cash and digital euro safeguard monetary sovereignty and freedom of choice when
making payments.
## Agreements withEuropean standard-setters
Turning now to the digital euro, let me say a few words about our work on standards.
Standards are the language of technology, enabling payment cards, phones and terminals to standardsensurethatpaymentsystemsworksmoothly,securelyandacrossborders. Today, Europe heavily depends on the proprietary standards controlled by international card schemes. adonuou su o suapuadap ane se suons edon aes sei si l standards.TheEuropeansolutionsneedtoeitherpayfortheuseoftheseforeignstandardsor costlyandinefficient. thatwehavecreatedandownourselves.Byleveragingthedigitaleurostandards,Europeanprivate payment solutions will also be able to expand across the euro area and diversify use cases without requiringfurthertechnical terminalupgradesatthepointofsale.Thisisoneclearexampleofhowthe digital eurocomplementsandbenefitsprivatesolutions. which private operators can already safely start to build their solutions.5]l We will reuse these existing European open standards for processing digital euro online payments. The standards were identified in close cooperation with market participants through the digital euro Rulebook Development Group.Ll This early clarity has immediate benefits in that it reduces adaptation costs for the market and service providers (PSPs) can align development plans for their own payment solutions accordingly. However, technical clarity alone is not enough. Only the co-legislators can provide legal certainty that status. Timely progress on the legislative framework is therefore essential.l It will allow the benefits of these therebycontributingtoourautonomyinpayments.
## Selecting participants for the digital euro piloting exercise
We are also preparing for the piloting exercise. This exercisewill usethe infrastructurewe aredeveloping,validateitsfunctionalityinreal-world conditions and allow us to collect feedback from all participants.] with market participants interested in joining the pilot.] In mid-May, we closed the call for expressions of interest for PSPs wishing to participate.1i We good balance across business models, including smaller and larger banks, acquiring and distributing PsPsandcountrycoverage. third quarter of this year. The pilot itself is expected to start in the second half of 2027.
### Conclusion
Letmeconclude.
ofcashanddigitaleurofiles-wouldsendastrong,symbolicmessagethatcashandthedigitaleuro are two sides of the same coin. It would show how the money we issue in Europe evolves so people's freedom to pay remains- be it with physical cash or a digital euro. I nowlookforwardtoyourquestions. 1. See European Parliament resolution of 10 February 2026 on the European Central Bank - annual report2025. 2. Cashremainswidely accepted by companiesacross theeuro area.However,between2021and 2024 cashacceptancedecreasedfrom96%to88%.SeeECB(2024),Useofcashby\_companiesinthe euro area. 3. 4. ThereisnoEuropeanalternative thatworksacross theeuro area.Forexample,ifyouhaveaDutch useVisaorMastercard.Andwhilesomecountrieshavetheirowndomesticpaymentsolutionswith 5. The standards include:(i) CPACE standards,developed by the European Card Payment Cooperation support payment acceptance and ATM transactions; (i) Berlin Group standards - these allow and reconciliation across mobile devices and payment acceptance in areas like digital euro transactions initiated in merchant apps on smartphones.Forfurther information, see ECB (2026), 'ECBsigns agreementswithEuropeanstandardsetters tofacilitate digital europayments",press release,24April. 6. The digital euro rulebook provides a single set of rules, standards and procedures for the provision of ECB (2025), Update on the work of the digital euro scheme's Rulebook Development Group, 30 October. 7. Thisis alsomentioned in theOneEurope,OneMarket Roadmapof theEuropeanParliament,the CounciloftheEuropeanUnionand theEuropeanCommission. 8. The pilot will test the envisaged digital euro features in a controlled environment, focusing on personto-person andperson-to-businesspayments.Theexercisewillbe conducted through a mixtureof onlineandofflineactivitiesatthepremisesoftheEurosystemcentralbanks.Itwill involvestafffrom used in this exercise will be a digital means of payment without legal tender status. See Cipollone, P. (2026),"The digital euro:preparing\_for a potential launch", introductory statement at the Committee on EconomicandMonetaryAffairsof theEuropeanParliament,24March. 9. See the ECB's website; Focus session on the digital euro pilot (lll); Focus Session on the digital euro pilot (ll); and Focus Session (virtual)- The digital euro pilot. 10. SeeECB(2026),Callforexpressionofinterest-Participationofpaymentserviceprovidersinthe digitaleuropilot,5March.
CONTACT
### European Central Bank
### DirectorateGeneral Communications
- Sonnemannstrasse20
- 60314FrankfurtamMain,Germany
- +496913447455
- media@ecb.europa.eu
#### Mediacontacts
### Copyright 2026, European Central Bank