Italian banks back digital euro but urge ECB to spread out costs: Reuters

Italian banks have expressed their support for the European Central Bank’s (ECB) digital euro initiative, but are calling for the implementation costs to be spread out over several years due to the financial burden it places on the sector.

“We're in favour of the digital euro because it embodies a concept of digital sovereignty,” said Marco Elio Rottigni, General Manager of the Italian Banking Association (ABI), during a press seminar in Florence,  Reuters reported on Friday.

“Costs for the project, however, are very high in the context of the capital expenditure banks must sustain. They could be spread over time,” Rottigni added.

The comments come as the central bank digital currency (CBDC) project has met resistance from some French and German banks, who fear the introduction of an ECB-backed retail wallet could drain deposits from commercial lenders.

137 countries and currency unions, representing 98% of global GDP, are exploring a CBDC. Source: CBDC Tracker

Related: Digital euro CBDC is ‘symbol of trust in our common destiny’ — ECB head

ECB sets 2029 target for digital euro launch

At its October 29–30 meeting in Florence, the ECB’s Governing Council approved moving the project into its next phase after a two-year preparatory period. A pilot phase is expected to begin in 2027, with a full rollout tentatively scheduled for 2029, pending the adoption of EU legislation in 2026.

European Parliament member Fernando Navarrete, who is leading the parliament’s review of the proposal, recently presented a draft report calling for a scaled-down version of the digital euro to protect private payment systems such as Wero, a joint initiative by 14 European banks, per the report.

Rottigni said Europe should pursue a “twin approach,” combining the ECB’s digital euro with commercial bank-backed digital currencies. “What Europe shouldn’t do is fall behind,” he added.

Related: Malaysia’s central bank sets three-year roadmap to pilot asset tokenization

ECB signs deals with tech firms for digital euro development

Last month, the ECB finalized framework agreements with seven technology providers to support the development of a potential digital euro. The agreements cover fraud and risk management, secure payment data exchange, and software development.

Among the firms involved are fraud-detection specialist Feedzai and security technology company Giesecke+Devrient (G+D).

According to the ECB, the selected firms will also develop features such as “alias lookup,” enabling users to send or receive payments without knowing the recipient’s payment service provider and offline payment capabilities.

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