Bank of Italy’s Chiara Scotti Urges EU Review of Tokenized SEPA Payments

• Myah Barker
• May 4, 2026
• Policy
• 0 Comments

Bank of Italy Deputy Governor Chiara Scotti called on the European Union to assess whether tokenized SEPA payments should become part of Europe’s evolving payment infrastructure, framing the idea as a natural next step as tokenization gains traction across financial markets.

Scotti delivered the remarks on May 4, 2026, in a speech titled “Digital Money and the Architecture of Trust” at a Rome workshop on digital assets and monetary policy transmission, published by the Bank of Italy. She argued that as tokenization becomes more relevant, Europe should consider how its existing payment arrangements evolve, and that a tokenized extension of SEPA could become an important area for reflection.

Why Scotti’s call for EU-level evaluation matters

Scotti is not a peripheral voice. As Deputy Governor of the Bank of Italy, she speaks from within the Eurosystem governance structure that shapes eurozone monetary and payment policy. Her conclusion explicitly places a tokenized SEPA extension alongside the digital euro on the retail side and the Pontes and Appia platforms on the wholesale side.

The distinction matters. SEPA is not a single-country system; it is the unified euro payment framework spanning over 30 European markets. Any tokenized extension would require coordination across regulators, central banks, and payment service providers at the EU level, which is precisely why Scotti directed the suggestion upward rather than framing it as an Italian initiative.

Her speech also arrives in a period of active European policy development around tokenized finance. The ECB published a comprehensive payments strategy on March 31, 2026, affirming that central bank money should remain the core settlement asset for wholesale transactions while allowing a complementary role for properly designed, EU-governed tokenized deposits and stablecoins.

What tokenized SEPA payments would actually mean

Today, SEPA credit transfers move euros between accounts using traditional messaging-based payment rails. SEPA Instant Credit Transfer (SCT Inst) already operates 24/7/365 with a 9-second internal processing timeline. SCT Inst accounted for 33.7% of combined SCT and SCT Inst volume in Q4 2025.

A tokenized extension would represent euros as programmable digital tokens on distributed ledger infrastructure rather than as entries in conventional account ledgers. This could enable programmable payments, atomic settlement where payment and asset delivery happen simultaneously, and greater interoperability with tokenized securities markets.

The potential benefits are real but so are the constraints. Tokenized payment systems would need to satisfy existing anti-money laundering requirements, maintain interoperability with legacy infrastructure, and meet the same consumer protection standards that current SEPA schemes provide. Scotti’s framing as “an area for reflection” signals that these questions remain open.

Where tokenized SEPA fits in Europe’s digital finance roadmap

Scotti’s remarks do not exist in isolation. The ECB’s Pontes platform, designed for wholesale settlement of tokenized assets in central bank money, is scheduled to launch in Q3 2026. Appia, a broader blueprint for Europe’s tokenized financial ecosystem, is expected to crystallize by 2028.

ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone has reinforced the urgency of anchoring tokenized markets in central bank money.

“Without tokenised central bank money, a seller of a tokenised security may receive payment in an asset they are not comfortable holding.”

— Piero Cipollone, ECB Executive Board member, March 23, 2026 speech

Scotti’s suggestion fills a gap in that roadmap. Pontes and Appia address wholesale markets and institutional settlement. The digital euro targets retail consumers. A tokenized SEPA extension would cover the middle ground: commercial bank-to-bank and business payment flows that currently run on traditional rails.

For banks, fintechs, and digital asset infrastructure providers operating in Europe, the signal is clear. The Eurosystem is thinking about tokenization not as a fringe experiment but as a potential evolution of core payment infrastructure. Institutions tracking developments like central bank digital asset evaluations in other jurisdictions will recognize a familiar pattern: senior officials publicly framing questions before formal proposals emerge.

The conversation around tokenized payment rails echoes broader digital ownership trends. Just as the infrastructure for tracking real-time digital asset data has matured, Europe’s payment policymakers are now asking whether the rails themselves should evolve to support token-native settlement.

Meanwhile, broader crypto markets reflect a cautious macro environment. Bitcoin traded near $79,926 with the Fear and Greed Index reading at 40, indicating fear. For those maintaining a long-term holding strategy, the policy-level momentum behind tokenized payment rails in Europe represents a structural development worth monitoring beyond short-term price action.

Scotti’s speech is not a proposal, a regulation, or a mandate. It is a senior central banker placing tokenized SEPA payments on the EU’s policy agenda. The next concrete test will be whether the ECB’s comprehensive payments strategy, Pontes launch, and digital euro preparations create the institutional momentum to move from reflection to formal evaluation.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency and digital asset markets carry significant risk. Always do your own research before making decisions.