The European Central Bank (ECB) has publicly questioned the prospect of launching a retail version of the digital euro that functions solely offline, according to a report by Bloomberg.
During remarks in Frankfurt, ECB adviser Alessandro Giovannini (directorate for the digital-euro project) said that the institution prefers an approach aligned with the European Commission’s blueprint rather than a purely offline architecture proposed by some lawmakers.
Giovannini’s comments reflect a tension between technical feasibility, policy trade-offs and legislative ambitions. On one side, the European Parliament has discussed proposals that emphasise offline-capability as a cash-like feature of the digital euro — allowing payments without internet, data connection or third-party validation. On the other side, the ECB is signalling caution about the scalability, resilience and integration of a fully offline solution.
According to the ECB’s published design intention, the digital euro is envisaged to “also function offline,” enabling transactions without internet, phone-signal or ATMs in working order. European Central Bank However, the recent Bloomberg article shows that the ECB sees “pure offline” operations as problematic. For example, the adviser pointed out that offline environments present numerous challenges — from double-spend prevention, hardware security, to compliance with anti-money-laundering standards — that limit how far offline functionality can go.
From a policy standpoint, this matters for the future user experience and the value proposition of the digital-euro project. If the final product limits offline usage for technical or regulatory reasons, then the “cash-replacement” narrative might be weakened. At the same time, banks and payment-service providers are watching closely. Some bank groups argue that the digital euro duplicates existing payment infrastructure without delivering clear added value for consumers.
The legislative backdrop remains important. The digital-euro regulation proposed by the European Commission remains under negotiation in the European Parliament and Council. The ECB’s cautious messaging may reflect both technical realism and an effort to align market expectations. A pilot phase scheduled for as early as 2027 — assuming legislation is finalised — is contingent on addressing these design questions.
In short, the ECB is signalling that while offline functionality remains a desirable feature of the digital euro, a version that works only offline may be unrealistic for launch. Developers, banks and policymakers will therefore need to reconcile user expectations, chapter limits, and operational constraints as the project moves toward implementation.