Digital Euro starting in 2029: new challenges for payment industry players
The digital euro is taking on ever more concrete contours for Eurozone citizens. The European Central Bank has officially started the technical development phase of the digital currency, laying the groundwork for a possible first issue in 2029. Following the successful conclusion of the preparatory phase, which started in November 2023, the Eurosystem is now focusing on setting up the technical architecture: selection of providers, definition of rules and operating standards, preparation of payment systems and supporting infrastructure. If the necessary European regulation is approved in the course of 2026, the hypothesis is to start a pilot as early as the second half of 2027.
Digital euro, between challenges and new opportunities
According to the ECB, this instrument is not meant to replace the paper euro, but to flank it. It will be a public, secure, universal means of payment, accessible to all, online and - in the cases envisaged - also offline, with the same guarantees and freedom of choice as cash. This is a turning point for the entire payments ecosystem. Indeed, the stated objectives include safeguarding European monetary sovereignty, reducing dependence on international circuits of cards and payment systems, increasing competition and resilience of the financial system, and ensuring inclusive and uniform access throughout the euro area. At the same time, the introduction of the digital euro brings with it complex challenges: from the need for shared European legislation, to the technical adaptation of banks, PSPs and operators, to the definition of common rules on privacy, holding limits, acceptance as a legal tender and pan-European interoperability.
Cbi Globe, forerunner of new models
How to prepare for a change that will redefine architectures, processes and service models? One example is that realised by Cbi, a consortium company that has been developing shared infrastructures to make digital payments more secure, interoperable and accessible for nearly thirty years. The company intends to become a point of reference for the management and interoperability between traditional euro and digital euro accounts - also for the cash management of businesses - by exploiting its expertise in governance, security and process standardisation. The ECB report "A view on recent assessments of digital euro investment costs for the euro area banking sector" highlights the value of collaborative platforms to reduce costs and optimise investments related to the digital euro, and among these it cites as a best practice Cbi Globe, active since 2019, which, thanks to shared connectivity, has enabled the Italian financial community to cut PSD2 compliance costs by 40% compared to solutions adopted individually by banks. A benchmark that enhances the strength of system synergies and demonstrates how collaborative ecosystems are key to making payments faster, safer and more efficient, accompanying businesses and citizens towards an advanced and sustainable digitalisation.
Payments and Artificial Intelligence
To keep up with the times and respond to the growing challenges posed by new technologies and digitisation, Cbi is evolving from a transactional business company to a data driven company, providing the financial community with advanced tools for information analysis and cash management, with a volume of treasury-related transactions on a daily basis ordered by 3 million companies. Today, the company is engaged in the analysis of innovative technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, in particular Agentic AI, which represents the new frontier of intelligent automation. In the field of payments, it makes it possible to manage payments on behalf of the user, monitor offers and prices, execute automatic purchases, and reinforce security through the identification of suspicious patterns and the integration of biometric authentication and dynamic credential tokenization.
A sector in constant evolution
Digital Euro and artificial intelligence represent the new frontiers for a sector, that of digital payments, which is constantly evolving on the security front. The Instant Payment Regulation, which also introduces Verification of Payee (VoP), a compulsory prior check on the identity of the beneficiary, to reduce the risk of errors in the routing of payments and, above all, to counter attempts at fraud and guarantee the security of money transfers, has recently come into force. A little over a month after this rule came into force, Cbi, with its Name Check service, points out that in this period, around 5 million checks were carried out every day, with between 15% and 20% coming from PSPs in other European countries.
