What happened
On 5 November 2026, Piero Cipollone, Member of the ECB Executive Board, gave a keynote titled "Shaping the future of money" in Tirana, Albania. He linked four Eurosystem projects: new euro banknotes, the digital euro, tokenised-asset settlement (Pontes and Appia) and connecting instant payment systems. On the digital euro he restated its status; he announced no new decision or date.
The speech at a glance
| Item | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Event date | 5 November 2026 | ECB speech |
| Speaker | Piero Cipollone, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB | ECB speech |
| Occasion | Keynote at the eighth International Conference of Regional Card Schemes and Retail Financial Market Infrastructures, Tirana | ECB speech |
| Type of document | Speech (explains positions; is not a Governing Council decision) | ECB speech |
| Main themes | Banknotes, digital euro, Pontes and Appia, interlinking fast payment systems | ECB speech |
This report is based on the English text published on the ECB website, which we read in full on 5 November 2026. We had found no independent press coverage of the speech when we wrote it, so everything below comes from the primary text.
What the speech said about the digital euro
The digital euro section repeats the case and design that the ECB has set out in earlier material, in condensed form. In our own words:
- Why. Central bank money is available to the public only as cash. Euro area payments remain fragmented along national lines, and the speech says that "13 euro area countries rely entirely on non-European companies for in-store card payments".
- What. A digital form of cash issued by the Eurosystem that would "complement banknotes and coins, not replace them". It would work online and offline, basic use would be free for consumers, and the Eurosystem would not know the people behind online payments.
- Who distributes it. Banks and other supervised payment service providers (PSPs) would remain the customer's point of contact. The digital euro is described as a common acceptance layer on which they can build their own services.
- Fees. The Eurosystem would charge no scheme or processing fees. The speech presents this as a saving for banks, merchants, especially small ones, and consumers.
- Safeguards. Holdings would earn no interest and would be limited. A "waterfall" link to a bank account would let people send or receive amounts above the limit. No limit amount is given.
- Law and timing. The Council agreed its position in December 2025 and the European Parliament in July 2026; trilogue negotiations are under way; the European Council wants them concluded by the end of 2026. If that happens, the ECB aims to be ready for a potential first issuance in 2029.
- Pilot and innovation. The 12-month pilot is planned for the second half of 2027, with 36 PSPs selected from more than 50 applicants. The speech also mentions the merchant call that opened on 15 September and a new wave of the innovation platform, including AI agent-enabled payments, micropayments and payments for public services such as transport and parking.
What was new, and what was restated?
Most coverage of ECB speeches simply relays them. A more useful test is to check each claim against the record. We compared the speech with the ECB sources we already track on our digital euro news page.
| Statement in the speech | Status | Earlier primary source |
|---|---|---|
| Council position Dec 2025, Parliament July 2026, trilogue under way | Restated | ECB FAQ |
| Potential first issuance in 2029 if the law is agreed in 2026 | Restated | ECB press release, 30 October 2025 |
| Pilot from second half of 2027, 12 months, 36 PSPs | Restated | ECB press release, 14 July 2026 |
| Merchant call opened 15 September | Restated; the speech does not mention that the call closed on 27 October | ECB news, 15 September 2026 |
| New innovation platform wave, incl. AI agent payments | Restated | ECB innovation platform |
| Network service providers selected on 30 October | Not mentioned | ECB news, 30 October 2026 |
| €1 billion European Stability Mechanism bond settled via Pontes | New relative to the sources we track | Speech footnote (ESM press release, 26 October 2026) |
| Western Balkans instant payment figures (close to 30,000 transactions on one day) | New relative to the sources we track | Speech only |
Our reading: the digital euro section adds no new commitment. The genuinely fresh material is on the wholesale side (Pontes, Appia) and on the Western Balkans.
The rest of the speech in brief
- Banknotes. More than 31 billion euro banknotes worth over €1.6 trillion are in circulation. Almost ten million people took part in the ECB's design survey; the Governing Council expects to choose the final design concept around the end of 2026, with new notes entering circulation gradually from the early 2030s. Existing notes stay valid.
- Pontes and Appia. Pontes, launched on 21 September 2026, settles wholesale tokenised-asset transactions in central bank money and is to move towards 24/7/365 availability in 2028. Appia is the longer-term blueprint for a European tokenised financial ecosystem, also due in 2028; its roadmap consultation drew 127 responses. Neither is the retail digital euro.
- Interlinking. The ECB's instant settlement service, TIPS, already handles the euro, the Swedish krona and the Danish krone, with cross-currency settlement available since October 2025. A TIPS-based platform built by Banca d'Italia runs in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, and Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia are expected to join. Links with India's Unified Payments Interface, the Nexus project and Swiss and Brazilian systems are being worked on or explored.
Why it matters
For a business, the speech matters less for what it decided (nothing) than for the signals it sends about priorities.
- The 2029 date is still conditional. The ECB keeps tying a potential 2029 issuance to political agreement by the end of 2026. If trilogues run into 2027, expect later dates. Our digital euro timeline tracks that dependency.
- "No Eurosystem fees" is not the same as "free for merchants". The speech says the Eurosystem would not charge scheme or processing fees. Merchants would still deal with their own PSPs, and how much PSPs may charge merchants is part of the compensation model under negotiation. Our legislation tracker follows that file.
- The ECB frames the project around dependency. The "13 countries" statistic puts strategic autonomy at the centre of the argument. Businesses that sell in shops in those countries currently rely on international card schemes for card acceptance; a digital euro would add one more acceptance method, not remove existing ones.
- The geography is wider than the euro area. For firms trading with the Western Balkans, SEPA membership and a TIPS-based regional platform are the practical news, not the digital euro.
For a broader view of acceptance, costs and readiness, see the digital euro for businesses.
What it does not mean
- It is not a launch announcement. The digital euro has not been issued, and the speech gives no launch date beyond the conditional 2029 readiness aim.
- It is not a legislative step. Only the co-legislators can adopt the regulation; a speech does not move it forward.
- It does not set a holding limit. The speech confirms that a limit would exist but gives no figure.
- It does not reopen the merchant pilot call. That call closed on 27 October 2026; see our report on the closed merchant application window.
- Pontes is not the digital euro. It is wholesale settlement for financial institutions.
What happens next
| Date | What is scheduled | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 9 November 2026, 17:00 CET | Innovation platform applications close | ECB innovation platform |
| Around end of 2026 | Banknote design concept decision expected; target for concluding digital euro trilogues | ECB speech |
| By early 2027 | ECB merchant selection outcome | ECB pilot page |
| Second half of 2027 | Pilot planned to start | ECB speech |
| 2029 | Potential first issuance, if the law is adopted and the Governing Council decides | ECB speech |
None of these is our forecast. While nothing is required of businesses today, the work that pays off regardless of the digital euro is keeping clean payment references, so every incoming euro can be matched to an invoice. Our SEPA reconciliation guide explains how.
Frequently asked questions
Who gave the ECB speech on 5 November 2026?
Piero Cipollone, a Member of the ECB Executive Board, gave the keynote "Shaping the future of money" in Tirana at the eighth International Conference of Regional Card Schemes and Retail Financial Market Infrastructures.
Did the speech announce a digital euro launch date?
No. It repeated that, if co-legislators conclude by the end of 2026, the ECB aims to be ready for a potential first issuance in 2029. Issuance still needs adopted legislation and a Governing Council decision.
What did the speech say about fees?
That the Eurosystem would charge no scheme or processing fees and that basic use would be free for consumers. What PSPs may charge merchants is still being negotiated.
Why was the speech given in Albania?
The conference was held in Tirana. The speech notes that Albania has joined SEPA and is expected to join a regional TIPS-based instant payment platform.
Sources
DIGITAL EUR is an independent publisher, not affiliated with the ECB. Event date and publication date are kept separate; this report was written on 5 November 2026.
- ECB — Piero Cipollone, "Shaping the future of money", keynote speech, Tirana, 5 November 2026 (accessed 5 November 2026)
- ECB — FAQs on the digital euro (accessed 5 November 2026)
- ECB — Eurosystem moving to next phase of digital euro project, 30 October 2025 (accessed 5 November 2026)
- ECB — ECB selects 36 payment service providers to join digital euro pilot, 14 July 2026 (accessed 5 November 2026)
- ECB — Call for online and mobile merchants to participate in digital euro pilot, 15 September 2026 (accessed 5 November 2026)
- ECB — ECB selects network service providers for the digital euro, 30 October 2026 (accessed 5 November 2026)
- ECB — Digital euro innovation platform (accessed 5 November 2026)
- ECB — Digital euro pilot (accessed 5 November 2026)