A document dated Oct. 2 lays out how the Eurosystem - the ECB alongside national central banks - wants the digital euro to work from the outset. The plan favors debuting with three uses: person-to-person payments, checkout in every online shop, and acceptance in a subset of brick-and-mortar locations. For the latter two - payments in some physical stores and P2P - the slides say transactions should function both online and offline.
In-store payments had not been part of the original early feature set. They are now being proposed after lawmakers and market players "signaled the importance of its early availability in view of strategic autonomy." The broader initiative is also about cutting Europe's dependence on US payment providers.
A digital euro would change how payments work across the whole bloc. Market Briefs covers central bank currency free every weekday.
First issuance is envisioned for the second half of 2029. A marked-up timeline indicates the ECB could have the first merchants ready to take digital euro at physical points of sale in that same window, provided regulation is adopted this year. The document also shows the ECB expects to complete the bulk of a phased rollout in roughly six to 12 months.
Negotiations among the European Parliament, the Commission and EU governments are in the final stretch, but specifics of the rollout remain unsettled. President Christine Lagarde said last month she is "very hopeful" the legislation will pass by year-end. An ECB spokesperson declined to comment.
An ECB report from last October called for a "swift and structured manner" of introduction with a "staggered roll-out featuring a well-defined sequence and combination of use cases." While phasing helps with costs and implementation, the slides add that the legal tender status of a digital euro also needs attention - a point used to argue for opening with a broader set of uses. For anyone buying groceries, splitting a dinner bill, or shopping online in Europe, that could mean quicker access to a new way to pay and fewer detours through non-European rails.
Offline and in-store functionality is where the design gets hard. Join Market Briefs free and follow the rollout.
