Contribution to Bancaria by Piero Cipollone, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, based on remarks at the Crypto Asset Lab Conference on 17 January 2025

28 February 2025

Being a key player in digital payments and digital finance should be a priority for Europe.

As Mario Draghi pointed out in his recent report, the productivity gap between the United States and the European Union is mostly explained by technology and finance.^[1] If we take the information and communications technology (ICT) and financial sectors out, the gap disappears.

If we want to close the productivity gap with the United States, we need to focus on these areas. Digital payments and digital finance stand at the intersection of these two sectors. And they are developing fast, driven by changes in habits and technology. This is both an opportunity and a risk for Europe. It is an opportunity to close the gap by developing innovative and competitive European solutions. But if we do not seize that opportunity,…