Consultation points to common priorities
The European Central Bank said on 28 October that 127 public- and private-sector stakeholders responded to its Appia roadmap consultation. According to the ECB, respondents broadly supported central bank money as the foundation for tokenised finance and as a bridge between private settlement assets. They also prioritised standardisation, interoperability between distributed-ledger and existing market infrastructure, and harmonised legal and regulatory frameworks across the European Union.
Workstreams before a 2028 blueprint
No architecture decision has been made. The ECB plans further market engagement on tokenised deposits and payments, tokenised securities, shared-network governance and standards, alongside the Appia contact group launched in September. The work is intended to inform a 2028 blueprint. Although Appia is wholesale market infrastructure rather than a checkout product, its choices could shape how tokenised bank money, securities and collateral interoperate—and therefore how regulated digital settlement eventually connects to corporate treasury. Near-term merchant impact is limited, and firms should treat the roadmap as design work rather than a live settlement service.
What it means for merchants
Large merchants and payment providers with European tokenisation plans should map where central-bank-money settlement and interoperability standards could affect treasury architecture, while avoiding production assumptions until the ECB selects a design.
Read the original announcement
European Central Bank · 28 Oct 2026This brief summarizes the linked primary source. Claims and reported figures have not been independently audited by Payment Guide.