European Central Bank executive board member Piero Cipollone said the digital euro will offer the maximum level of privacy available with current technology, comparable to cash, and is scheduled for introduction in 2029.

The statement comes amid growing public concern that central bank digital currencies could enable government surveillance of spending, a view expressed by civil society groups such as Epicenter.works, which argue that privacy guarantees rely on institutional promises rather than technical safeguards.

Cipollone said offline digital euro transactions would be visible only to the payer and the payee, while banks would identify users only for anti‑money‑laundering purposes in online transactions. He added that the design would not eliminate cash, pointing to a recent public consultation on new euro banknote designs as evidence of the ECB’s commitment to preserving physical money. The European Parliament approved the digital euro regulation last month, and ECB President Christine Lagarde has said the digital euro and cash will coexist.

The privacy model remains subject to technical and legal scrutiny as the ECB prepares for a 2029 rollout.