ECB bets on barnstorming start for digital Euro

 25-Aug-25, Politico

The ECB wants the digital euro system to be able to handle more than 50 billion transactions a year. Such massive capacity suggests that the ECB expects the digital currency to transform the retail payments market, pressuring a key revenue stream for current payment providers.

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There could be close to 125 billion card transactions in 2028 – the year currently seen as the earliest possible launch date for the digital currency. At full capacity, the digital euro would thus have a market share of around 40 percent.

A large part of payment fees currently goes to companies such as Visa and Mastercard and other fintech firms located outside Europe. The ECB wants the digital Euro not just to stop such leakage, but to end Europe’s technological reliance on the infrastructure of US payment giants.

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