The Eurosystem published its first comprehensive payments strategy on March 31. The framework addresses wholesale, business-to-business, retail, and cross-border payments in a single document. Central bank money is positioned as the anchor of trust for Europe's digital payment ecosystem, complemented by private settlement assets including tokenised deposits and regulated euro-denominated stablecoins.
Pontes, the Eurosystem's DLT-based solution linking distributed ledger platforms with TARGET Services, will launch in Q3 2026 for settling euro-denominated transactions in central bank money. During 2024 exploratory trials, 64 participants across Europe settled EUR 1.6 billion in tokenised assets through the prototype.
The strategy also encompasses the digital euro project and ongoing enhancements to TIPS and SEPA instant payments infrastructure.