According to the European Central Bank's own estimates, the digital euro will cost between 4 and 6 billion euros.

Omissions

• The ECB's 4-6 billion euro estimate refers specifically to investment costs borne by banks and other payment intermediaries, not the total cost of the digital euro system (the ECB's own operational costs are additional and smaller in scale).
• Other independent studies estimate higher total costs for the banking sector: PwC extrapolates compliance costs to about €18 billion for the euro area, and BNP Paribas research estimated roughly €18 billion (about €110 million per bank) — these are not ECB estimates.
• The ECB notes its estimate is significantly lower than previous industry estimates, a point the speaker did not mention.

Sources

• PrimaryEuropean Central Bank — Digital euro preparation phase: Closing reportOn costs, the ECB's assessment estimates that the euro area banking sector would need to invest €4 billion to €5.8 billion in total (or €1 billion to €1.44 billion per year) over the four-year implementation phase.
• PrimaryEuropean Central Bank — Digital euro overview pageImplementing the digital euro would cost banks an estimated €4 billion to €5.8 billion. This is significantly lower than previous industry estimates.
• PrimaryEuropean Central Bank — Blog: Digital euro: an opportunity for banksThis analysis showed that total investment costs for banks could range from €4 billion to €5.8 billion, or from €1 billion to €1.44 billion per year over the four-year implementation phase.
• SecondaryReuters — Digital euro to cost EU banks 4-6 billion euros over 4 years: ECB estimatesIntroducing the digital euro could cost European banks between four billion and six billion euros ($4.7-$7.1 billion) spread over four years, according to European Central Bank estimates seen by Reuters.