The introduction of the digital euro could cost European banks between €4 and €6 billion over a four-year period, according to Piero Cipollone, member of the Executive Board of the Banca Centrală Europeană (ECB), as reported by Reuters and Agerpres.
Initial setup costs are estimated at around €1.3 billion, with additional operational expenses of approximately €300 million, although it was not specified whether this figure is annual.
Read also:France pushes public sector workers away from Zoom and Teams toward a local solution
“The estimates presented, based on indications received from banks, show implementation costs between four and six billion euros over four years: this represents about 3% of what they spend annually on IT system maintenance,” Cipollone explained.
Launch timeline and capped merchant fees
Earlier this month, Members of the European Parliament expressed preliminary support for the digital euro, an electronic version of the single currency that the ECB aims to introduce by the end of the decade to strengthen Europe’s payment sovereignty.
The digital euro would function similarly to cash, allowing payments in stores, online and between individuals, without additional costs for users.
The ECB has been studying the project’s feasibility since 2020 and plans to start a pilot phase in 2027, with issuance potentially beginning in 2029, subject to the adoption of a European legislative framework this year.
Banks would recover part of their costs through fees charged to merchants for digital euro services and would provide users with the necessary mobile applications. The ECB will not charge network service fees, meaning banks should not include costs typically paid to private payment networks.
Merchants are expected to benefit from capped fees for digital euro transactions, set below the levels currently charged by companies such as Visa and Mastercard.
Photo: Economy Magazine
UK
IT
ES
DE
FR
RO
PT
HU
