ECB targets summer for digital euro standards: Cipollone

The ECB’s Piero Cipollone said the central bank wants key technical standards for a possible digital euro locked in by this summer so banks and merchants can prepare for the rollout.

European Central Bank Executive Board member Piero Cipollone said on Tuesday that the ECB expects by this summer to announce the European standards it will use for a potential digital euro, a step aimed at helping payment providers and merchants prepare their systems ahead of any issuance decision.

Cipollone told European Union lawmakers that, once those standards are announced, the ECB will work with market participants so they can begin embedding them into payment terminals and other solutions as soon as possible.

Cipollone said finalizing the rulebook would let new terminals and payment apps ship with the necessary rails already embedded, giving European companies a head start once EU legislation is in place, which the ECB expects to happen in 2026.

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