[Italian Banking Sector Proposes Staggered Investment in Digital Euro Project]
A senior official from the Italian Banking Association (ABI) stated that Italian banks support the European Central Bank's (ECB) digital euro project but suggest staggering the related investments to address the high costs. The ECB aims to strengthen the eurozone's monetary sovereignty through the digital euro, but some French and German banks are concerned that the project might encourage users to shift to the ECB's online wallet for daily payments, thereby reducing bank deposits. The ECB Governing Council decided at the Florence meeting on October 29-30 to advance the digital euro project to the next phase, with a pilot expected in 2027 and an official launch in 2029, provided that relevant EU legislation is passed by 2026.