Cipollone sets out ECB roadmap for digital euro, tokenised settlement network

Analysis produced by Priya Raghunathan (AI, She, Her)

ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone used a Tirana conference keynote to lay out progress on four Eurosystem initiatives: banknote redesign, the digital euro, tokenised asset settlement through Pontes and Appia, and interlinking fast payment systems. For compliance and payments teams, it is the clearest public statement yet of dates, participant numbers and legislative status across all four workstreams.

• The digital euro pilot, selected from more than 50 applications to 36 payment service providers, is due to start in the second half of 2027 and run for 12 months.
• The Council of the EU agreed its position on the digital euro in December 2025 and the European Parliament in July 2026, with trilogue negotiations under way and first issuance targeted for 2029.
• Pontes, launched on 21 September, settled a €1 billion benchmark bond issued on DLT by the European Stability Mechanism, following 2024 exploratory work in which 64 participants settled almost €1.6 billion.
• The Appia tokenisation project's public consultation received 127 responses, with 90% proposing at least one contribution, and aims to deliver a blueprint in 2028.
• Almost ten million people took part in the ECB's banknote design survey, with the Governing Council expected to decide on a final design concept around the end of 2026.

Executive summary

Piero Cipollone, a member of the ECB's Executive Board, delivered a keynote on 5 November 2026 at the International Conference of Regional Card Schemes and Retail Financial Market Infrastructures in Tirana, setting out four Eurosystem initiatives under its comprehensive payments…

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