The European Central Bank has sharpened its public defence of the digital euro, presenting it as free digital cash, a privacy-preserving payment option, and a strategic response to Europe’s dependence on non-European payment infrastructure. In two interviews published on 26 January, ECB Executive Board members Piero Cipollone and Isabel Schnabel addressed growing political scepticism and misinformation surrounding the project.
Speaking to Süddeutsche Zeitung, Cipollone framed the digital euro as a missing form of public money for the digital age. Cash, he argued, no longer covers a growing share of everyday payments, with around one third of transactions now taking place online. “We’re simply creating an additional option,” he said, stressing that banknotes and coins will remain available and that no one will be forced to switch.
A central promise is universal acceptance. Under current proposals, any retailer that accepts digital payments would be required to accept the digital euro. For merchants, Cipollone argued, this should come with significantly lower fees because the core infrastructure would be provided by the ECB and the Eurosystem. Basic use for consumers would be free, making the digital euro comparable to cash, but usable online and across borders.
Beyond convenience and cost, Cipollone placed heavy emphasis on strategic autonomy. He warned that Europe’s reliance on US-based card schemes represents a geopolitical vulnerability, citing cases where sanctions led to payment cards being blocked. In several euro area countries, he noted, there is no domestic card system at all, leaving consumers dependent on foreign networks for digital payments.
In this context, the digital euro is presented less as a competitor to private payment providers and more as a shared European backbone. Cipollone compared it to a public rail network on which private “trains” can operate, pointing to initiatives such as Wero as potential beneficiaries of a common European standard that would allow them to scale across borders.
Privacy concerns remain one of the most politically sensitive aspects of the project, and Cipollone addressed them directly. He rejected claims that the ECB wants to monitor or control spending, calling such allegations disinformation. According to his explanation, the Eurosystem would not track individual purchases or “mark” digital euros to restrict how they can be used. Offline payments, in particular, are designed to offer cash-like anonymity, with transactions not recorded once funds are stored on a device.
In a separate interview published the same day, Schnabel focused more broadly on the ECB’s credibility and policy framework, but echoed the importance of trust in public institutions. While her remarks centred on inflation and monetary policy, they underscored a wider institutional message: the ECB sees maintaining confidence in European public money, both physical and digital, as part of its core mandate.
Timing remains uncertain. Cipollone acknowledged that a pilot phase is expected to start next year, while full issuance of a digital euro is unlikely before 2029. However, he warned that delays carry costs. Once legislation is agreed, digital euro standards would be made available, allowing European payment providers and retailers to prepare even before launch. Every postponement, he argued, increases Europe’s dependence on foreign payment systems.
Taken together, the two interviews mark a more assertive phase in the ECB’s communication strategy. As legislative negotiations continue in Brussels and political resistance persists in parts of the European Parliament, the central bank is increasingly framing the digital euro not just as a technical upgrade, but as digital cash, public infrastructure, and a strategic asset for the euro area.
Related: ECB Digital Euro User Research Highlights Offline Payments, Lower Fees and Trust as Adoption Drivers