European Parliament committee backs digital euro to curb Visa and Mastercard reliance

The vote in committee

The Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee adopted the draft regulation by 43 votes to 14 with one abstention. Committee chair Aurore Lalucq, a French socialist, called it a historic day for Europe. The far-right Europe of Sovereign Nations group, whose MEP Siegbert Frank Droese voted against the text, raised the possibility of a further vote in the plenary. Barring an objection, lawmakers will start negotiations with the EU Council and the Commission next month, aiming for final approval by the end of the year.

A historic day for Europe.

Reducing dependence on US payment networks

The digital euro is an electronic form of cash issued by the ECB and distributed by banks and fintech firms. A central goal is to cut the eurozone's reliance on non-European payment processors. ECB data show that roughly two-thirds of eurozone card transactions are handled by foreign companies, mostly Visa and Mastercard, and 13 of the 21 euro-area countries lack a domestic card scheme. The push gained urgency after Donald Trump's return to the White House, which brought tariffs on the EU and fuelled fears that Washington could weaponise its grip on payment rails.

The introduction of the digital euro would reduce overreliance on non-European providers by becoming a pan-European means of payment and would bring the single currency into the digital era by giving Union citizens the freedom to opt to pay with central bank money in their daily transactions.

Online and offline functionality

The agreed text provides for two ways to pay: an online version, processed through account-based systems, and an offline version that allows direct device-to-device transfers without an internet connection or central settlement. The offline mode, described as a world first, leaves no transaction record and offers the same privacy as cash. The online version will be offered free of charge to consumers; merchants will bear infrastructure costs similar to card terminals. Privacy safeguards limit data processing to what is strictly necessary and prevent the ECB from identifying individual users.

The digital euro will complement cash, never replace it. Nobody should be forced to give up cash, and nobody should be left without a secure, robust and genuinely European digital payment option.

Civil society and international context

Finance Watch, a Brussels-based NGO, welcomed the vote as preserving the ambition of inclusive access to public money and protecting European sovereignty. Outside the euro area, China has been piloting a digital yuan at scale, India and Brazil have run trials, the UK has focused on research, and President Trump has forbidden the Federal Reserve from issuing a digital currency.

The text keeps the project's original ambition alive: ensuring inclusive access to public money in an increasingly digital payments landscape, while protecting European sovereignty.

An ECB pilot lasting 12 months is planned for the second half of 2027, with a full launch expected in 2029.