Our payment habits are changing. With digital payments on the rise, we need to preserve people’s freedom to choose how to pay: there’s cash, card, online transfers – and soon, we could have a digital euro.
But what is the digital euro, and how will it work? Will it replace cash? Concerns about data security and government control have sparked debate around the digital euro, often fuelled by disinformation.
We separate fact from fiction as our host Stefania Secola teams up with Aidas Palubinskas from EU Finance Podcast to speak to Executive Board member Piero Cipollone about modernising our money.
The views expressed are those of the speakers and not necessarily those of the European Central Bank.
Recorded on 4 November 2025 and published on 13 November 2025.
In this episode:
02:18 The digital what?
What is the digital euro, and how will it work in practice? Don’t we already pay digitally?
13:48 What will happen to cash?
Would introducing the digital euro mean the end of cash? And could it take away business from banks and other financial service providers?
16:25 How secure would the digital euro be really?
What about hackers? Will our money be safe, and will the digital euro affect the integrity of the payments system?
19:31 Did someone say Big Brother?
Will central banks, governments and other authorities have access to our data ? How private will our payments really be?
24:52 When will we have a digital euro?
Where are we in the process and what are the next steps? How are EU institutions like the European Commission and the European Parliament involved in the digital euro project?
29:17 Our guests’ hot tips
Piero Cipollone shares his hot tip.
EU Finance Podcast – the future of finance
https://finance.ec.europa.eu/eu-finance-podcast-future-finance_en
Digital euro
https://www.ecb.europa.eu/euro/digital_euro/html/index.en.html
President Lagarde explains the next digital euro phase
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQd60z9jfjV/?igsh=MTV2OW4zNXp5cHJvNA==
The ECB Podcast: The digital euro, demystified https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/tvservices/podcast/html/ecb.pod231024_episode71.en.html
Press release: Eurosystem moving to next phase of digital euro project, 30 October 2025
https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/pr/date/2025/html/ecb.pr251030~8c5b5beef0.en.html
The ECB Blog: Making euro cash fit for the future https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/date/2025/html/ecb.blog20250804~9d3993abe0.en.html
Fit of the digital euro in the payment ecosystem https://www.ecb.europa.eu/euro/digital_euro/timeline/profuse/shared/pdf/ecb.deprep251030_digital_euro_fit_payment_ecosystem_report.en.pdf
All content for The ECB Podcast is the property of European Central Bank and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
Our payment habits are changing. With digital payments on the rise, we need to preserve people’s freedom to choose how to pay: there’s cash, card, online transfers – and soon, we could have a digital euro.
But what is the digital euro, and how will it work? Will it replace cash? Concerns about data security and government control have sparked debate around the digital euro, often fuelled by disinformation.
We separate fact from fiction as our host Stefania Secola teams up with Aidas Palubinskas from EU Finance Podcast to speak to Executive Board member Piero Cipollone about modernising our money.
The views expressed are those of the speakers and not necessarily those of the European Central Bank.
Recorded on 4 November 2025 and published on 13 November 2025.
In this episode:
02:18 The digital what?
What is the digital euro, and how will it work in practice? Don’t we already pay digitally?
13:48 What will happen to cash?
Would introducing the digital euro mean the end of cash? And could it take away business from banks and other financial service providers?
16:25 How secure would the digital euro be really?
What about hackers? Will our money be safe, and will the digital euro affect the integrity of the payments system?
19:31 Did someone say Big Brother?
Will central banks, governments and other authorities have access to our data ? How private will our payments really be?
24:52 When will we have a digital euro?
Where are we in the process and what are the next steps? How are EU institutions like the European Commission and the European Parliament involved in the digital euro project?
29:17 Our guests’ hot tips
Piero Cipollone shares his hot tip.
EU Finance Podcast – the future of finance
https://finance.ec.europa.eu/eu-finance-podcast-future-finance_en
Digital euro
https://www.ecb.europa.eu/euro/digital_euro/html/index.en.html
President Lagarde explains the next digital euro phase
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQd60z9jfjV/?igsh=MTV2OW4zNXp5cHJvNA==
The ECB Podcast: The digital euro, demystified https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/tvservices/podcast/html/ecb.pod231024_episode71.en.html
Press release: Eurosystem moving to next phase of digital euro project, 30 October 2025
https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/pr/date/2025/html/ecb.pr251030~8c5b5beef0.en.html
The ECB Blog: Making euro cash fit for the future https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/date/2025/html/ecb.blog20250804~9d3993abe0.en.html
Fit of the digital euro in the payment ecosystem https://www.ecb.europa.eu/euro/digital_euro/timeline/profuse/shared/pdf/ecb.deprep251030_digital_euro_fit_payment_ecosystem_report.en.pdf
We’ve reached 100 episodes of The ECB Podcast! Our hosts Stefania Secola and Paul Gordon reflect on their favourite episodes and welcome two special guests to the show.
The views expressed are those of the speakers and not necessarily those of the European Central Bank.
Published on 16 January 2025 and recorded on 10 January 2025.
In this episode:
00:54 100th episode
What topics have we covered? Which guests have joined us? And how can you – our listeners – help shape the podcast’s future?
03:18 What can podcasts do for central bank communications?
Why did we start a podcast? And how does it enable us to better explain our work to keep prices stable and banks safe?
06:09 What does Taylor Swift have to do with it?
Stefania reflects on our AskECB episode, where we answered YOUR questions. The next edition is coming up – find out how you can submit your questions!
07:50 A memorable episode
Paul reflects on the episode “War, geopolitics and the economy”. How can we apply the lessons learnt amid the rising geopolitical risks we’re observing?
09:56 Our most played episode
Which episode features three global leaders? What did they say about female empowerment and the importance of diversity? And how much progress has been made on this topic?
11:38 A special surprise guest
12:56 Spotlight on past guests
We’ve interviewed Presidents, Board members and experts. But who has been our most frequent guest? And what topics have they covered?
15:57 A special surprise guest
17:06 Our hosts’ hot tips
Paul and Stefania share their hot tips with our listeners.
Further reading:
“Swiftflation”, banknotes and the digital euro
https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/tvservices/podcast/html/ecb.pod241005_episode94.en.html
War, geopolitics and the economy
https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/tvservices/podcast/html/ecb.pod240705_episode88.en.html
What interest rate hikes mean for you, the economy and inflation
https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/tvservices/podcast/html/ecb.pod220723_episode38.en.html
A conversation about female empowerment, the need for an inclusive recovery and transatlantic cooperation
https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/tvservices/podcast/html/ecb.pod210715_episode18.en.html
A digital euro: what, why, when? (part 1)
https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/tvservices/podcast/html/ecb.pod221015_episode41.en.html
A digital euro: what, why, when? (part 2)
https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/tvservices/podcast/html/ecb.pod221019_episode42.en.html
The ECB Podcast Summer School #1: a deep dive into inflation
https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/tvservices/podcast/html/ecb.pod230804_episode66.en.html
The ECB Podcast Summer School #2: the nuts and bolts of interest rates
https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/tvservices/podcast/html/ecb.pod230811_episode67.en.html
The ECB Podcast Summer School #3: the role of banks in fighting inflation
https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/tvservices/podcast/html/ecb.pod230818_episode68.en.html
The ECB Podcast Summer School #1: what do European banking supervision and football have in common?
https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/tvservices/podcast/html/ecb.pod240808_episode91.en.html
The ECB Podcast Summer School #2: a day in the life of a banking supervisor
https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/tvservices/podcast/html/ecb.pod240817_episode92.en.html
ECB Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/europeancentralbank/
Espresso Economics
https://www.youtube.com/@Espresso_Economics
BBC Radio 4 – Thing Fell Apart
https://open.spotify.com/show/5cQxyxeC057nGcx7epp4ed
European Central Bank
www.ecb.europa.eu
The ECB Podcast
Our payment habits are changing. With digital payments on the rise, we need to preserve people’s freedom to choose how to pay: there’s cash, card, online transfers – and soon, we could have a digital euro.
But what is the digital euro, and how will it work? Will it replace cash? Concerns about data security and government control have sparked debate around the digital euro, often fuelled by disinformation.
We separate fact from fiction as our host Stefania Secola teams up with Aidas Palubinskas from EU Finance Podcast to speak to Executive Board member Piero Cipollone about modernising our money.
The views expressed are those of the speakers and not necessarily those of the European Central Bank.
Recorded on 4 November 2025 and published on 13 November 2025.
In this episode:
02:18 The digital what?
What is the digital euro, and how will it work in practice? Don’t we already pay digitally?
13:48 What will happen to cash?
Would introducing the digital euro mean the end of cash? And could it take away business from banks and other financial service providers?
16:25 How secure would the digital euro be really?
What about hackers? Will our money be safe, and will the digital euro affect the integrity of the payments system?
19:31 Did someone say Big Brother?
Will central banks, governments and other authorities have access to our data ? How private will our payments really be?
24:52 When will we have a digital euro?
Where are we in the process and what are the next steps? How are EU institutions like the European Commission and the European Parliament involved in the digital euro project?
29:17 Our guests’ hot tips
Piero Cipollone shares his hot tip.
EU Finance Podcast – the future of finance
https://finance.ec.europa.eu/eu-finance-podcast-future-finance_en
Digital euro
https://www.ecb.europa.eu/euro/digital_euro/html/index.en.html
President Lagarde explains the next digital euro phase
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DQd60z9jfjV/?igsh=MTV2OW4zNXp5cHJvNA==
The ECB Podcast: The digital euro, demystified https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/tvservices/podcast/html/ecb.pod231024_episode71.en.html
Press release: Eurosystem moving to next phase of digital euro project, 30 October 2025
https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/pr/date/2025/html/ecb.pr251030~8c5b5beef0.en.html
The ECB Blog: Making euro cash fit for the future https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/date/2025/html/ecb.blog20250804~9d3993abe0.en.html
Fit of the digital euro in the payment ecosystem https://www.ecb.europa.eu/euro/digital_euro/timeline/profuse/shared/pdf/ecb.deprep251030_digital_euro_fit_payment_ecosystem_report.en.pdf
