Lagarde: digital euro ready as early as 2027

The digital euro 'should be ready in a couple of years': 'we have to move fast, we cannot afford to lose time'. This was said by ECB President Christine Lagarde in an interview with Finnish broadcaster Mtv Oy. So far the ECB had indicated 2029 as a realistic date for the launch of the digital euro. Lagarde explained that the project does not aim to replace cash, but to offer an alternative to existing digital payment platforms, such as credit cards, which are not European and often 'involve massive fees'.

Italy's Almaviva, a digital innovation group, and Fabrick, a fintech company of the Sella group active in Open Finance, are among the companies selected by the European Central Bank, as part of the digital euro project, for the realisation of the mobile app and its technological infrastructure that will allow European citizens to use Europe's digital currency. This was reported in a statement, citing the results of a European tender.

The app, it says, designed to be intuitive and easy to use, will be accessible via smartphone, tablet or smartwatch, and will offer all EU citizens a uniform and secure experience for digital payments.

The part of the project entrusted to the two Italian companies also includes the realisation of the infrastructure, which will be open and interoperable thanks to dedicated development software (Sdk) and programming interfaces (APIs), which will enable European payment service providers to smoothly integrate their services with the digital euro platform.

This approach, it says, will ensure widespread dissemination of the new currency and enable innovation throughout the payment chain, strengthening European technological autonomy.