Guest lecture by Piero Cipollone, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, at the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management

Frankfurt am Main, 8 December 2025

Money is at the heart of what central banks do.^[1] Ever since central banks have existed, their fundamental role has been to issue money and protect its value. This role has been the same for centuries, and I don’t expect it to change. But what is changing is the environment in which central banks must deliver on this mandate. There are obviously many sides to this, but today I will focus on technology.

Digital payments are the new normal. And new technologies have emerged that are disrupting financial services, leading us to rethink their future. We are facing no less than a paradigm shift. Financial institutions have become technological entities. At the same time, tech firms have entered the realms of payments and finance. In fact, financial institutions and tech firms have all become fintechs. What was once a niche has…