ECB speech: digital euro, tokenisation and the role of central banks
In a speech delivered on 6 October 2026, ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone set out the ECB's strategy for extending central bank money into the digital environment while preserving the two-tier monetary system. The strategy combines the retail digital euro with the wholesale initiatives Pontes, for settling tokenised transactions, and Appia, for shaping the wider digital finance ecosystem. He highlighted Europe's reliance on international card schemes, which account for two-thirds of euro area card payments, and the absence of a domestic card scheme in 13 of the 21 euro area countries.
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ECB highlights systemic financial risks frontiar AI
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