Interview with Piero Cipollone, conducted by Markus Zydra and Meike Schreiber on 15 January 2026

26 January 2026

Mr Cipollone, if you had 20 seconds to explain the greatest advantage of the digital euro, what would you say?

Quite simply: it’s easy. You can use it everywhere – in Germany and across the entire euro area.

Even in a small French bakery out in the countryside and even if I don’t have a smartphone?

Yes. Every retailer who accepts digital payments today will in future be required to accept the digital euro as well. And retailers will be pleased, because fees will fall significantly – after all, the ECB is providing the infrastructure.

But do I really need a digital euro for that? Can’t I also pay by card or cash?

Of course. By definition, cash cannot be used to pay digitally, for instance for online shopping. And when you pay by card, you often incur account fees. The digital euro, by contrast, will be free for basic use. It will be like cash, but in digital form….