Piero Cipollone warns that failing to adapt central bank money to digital trends risks financial fragmentation and instability in the euro area.
European Central Bank Executive Board member Piero Cipollone emphasized the need for central banks to modernize money for the digital age to maintain its stability and relevance. Without adaptation, public money risks losing its role as an anchor of financial stability, increasing fragmentation and systemic risks in the euro area’s payment systems.
Cipollone highlighted the rapid digitalization of retail and wholesale payments, driven by new technologies and non-bank players. He argued that central banks must extend their money into digital environments while preserving its core attributes—safety, uniformity, and reliability—to prevent private solutions from dominating the financial ecosystem.
The speech underscored the ECB’s stance that resisting digitalization is not an option. Instead, central banks should actively shape the future of money to ensure it remains trusted and usable across all economic sectors.