ABI senior official: Italian banks support the digital euro project but hope for phased investment

Foresight News: According to Reuters, Marco Elio Rottigni, General Manager of the Italian Banking Association (ABI), stated at a press conference held in Florence that Italian banks support the European Central Bank's digital euro project because it embodies the concept of "digital sovereignty." However, they hope that the investments required for the implementation of this project can be carried out in phases, as the costs are very high.

At the end of last month, the ECB's Governing Council decided to advance to the next phase of the digital euro project, stating that if timely approval is obtained from legislators, a pilot project for its digital currency could be launched in 2027, with an official rollout in 2029.

However, according to the Financial Times, the plan has faced opposition from the German Banking Industry Committee (the largest banking lobby group in Germany) and conservative European Parliament member Fernando Navarrete. In a report released last week, Fernando Navarrete stated that the digital euro should not be used for payments between financial intermediaries, payment service providers, and other market participants (i.e., wholesale payments), as central bank money settlement systems already exist and the euro system is further exploring the use of different technologies to handle these payments.