The European Central Bank announced its strategy in 2025 to modernize central bank money, develop the digital euro, and enhance cross-border and wholesale payment systems amid digitalisation and fragmentation challenges.
The European Central Bank (ECB) has outlined its strategy for 2025 to address challenges posed by digitalisation and fragmentation in the financial system.
The ECB emphasizes the need to modernize central bank money through the development of the digital euro, which aims to provide everyday convenience, strategic autonomy, and resilience across the euro area. The digital euro would be accessible to all and accepted for digital payments, with open standards and offline functionality.
The ECB is currently in the technical development phase, with pilot activities planned to start in mid-2027. The goal is to be ready for potential issuance in 2029, contingent on legislative approval expected in 2026.
In addition, the ECB is exploring new technologies such as distributed ledger technology (DLT) and tokenisation for wholesale transactions, aiming to improve efficiency and market access. Projects like Pontes and Appia focus on settlement solutions and integrated payment and securities ecosystems.
The ECB also aims to enhance cross-border payments through multi-currency settlement services, interlinking with global fast payment systems and bilateral/multilateral networks, aligning with G20 objectives.
Further information and updates are available on the ECB’s dedicated webpages for the digital euro, settlement of DLT-based transactions, and cross-border payments.
