The Plumbing Race: Digital Euro, BLOOM, and the Stability Talks

Europe's answer: a digital euro

ECB board member Piero Cipollone framed the digital euro as strategic infrastructure for Europe in an interview with Milano Finanza, and the details show why. Two-thirds of online payments in the euro area are made using non-European card schemes, and online payments in Italy grew from 6% of the total in 2019 to 24% in 2024. The digital euro is meant to introduce a European alternative that increases competition and reduces fees for small merchants, running on a common European infrastructure developed by European providers, with 36 market operators currently collaborating on preparatory works. m:…0756

The rollout plan is concrete. The ECB will launch a pilot program in 2027 using real transactions by staff at the ECB and national central banks, and the digital euro could be rolled out as early as 2029 if the regulation is approved. There will be a limit on holdings to safeguard financial stability, but no limits on the amount that can be spent. The digital euro will support offline payments for use during power cuts or in remote areas, with offline payments made directly between payor and payee without internet access. Banks will be able to integrate the digital euro into their existing apps, the Eurosystem will offer a standardized, reliable app with basic functions, and the ECB will not open accounts for individuals, keeping the customer relationship with the bank. m:…0756

The project sits inside a wider European buildout. The Pontes project went live on September 21, 2026 to settle financial transactions on distributed-ledger platforms, and the Appia project aims to create a fully integrated European financial ecosystem. The digital euro is the retail-facing piece of that infrastructure, but Pontes and Appia show the wholesale and ecosystem work moving on the same track. m:…0756

Asia's answer: BLOOM

In Asia, three central banks joined a public-private effort to fix the same cross-border problem from the settlement side. The Monetary Authority of Singapore, Bank Negara Malaysia, and Bank of Thailand joined the BLOOM initiative as policymaker members, alongside a bank group that joined as a participant. BLOOM brings together policymakers, financial institutions, payment networks, and technology providers, and its participants will focus on acceptance and settlement across jurisdictions, interoperability across digital money arrangements, and programmable controls. m:…3708

The practical goal is to reduce the need for financial institutions to establish separate arrangements with each counterparty or market. That is the same fragmentation problem Cipollone described in Europe, approached through coordination rather than a single new currency: shared settlement arrangements and interoperable digital money instead of bilateral deals multiplied across every corridor. m:…3708

Africa's angle: stability first

The Financial Stability Board's Regional Consultative Group for Sub-Saharan Africa met on October 23-24, 2026 in Maseru, Lesotho, co-chaired by Lesetja Kganyago and Denny Kalyalya. The group discussed how global policy uncertainty and economic fragmentation transmit to the Sub-Saharan African region, and the applicability of FSB proposed principles in the regional context. It also discussed climate-related data gaps and insurance protection gaps, and the cybersecurity and financial stability implications of artificial intelligence and quantum computing. The agenda shows the other side of the plumbing race: before new rails scale, regulators in the region are weighing what fragmentation, data gaps, and new technologies mean for stability. m:…0357

Three regions, one project: make money move across borders on infrastructure the participants control, and make sure it stays stable when it does. Europe is building a currency, Asia is coordinating settlement, and Africa's regulators are testing the principles. The timelines differ, but the direction is shared. m:…0756 m:…3708 m:…0357