The European Central Bank (ECB) intends to improve payment infrastructures in the eurozone due to rapid technological changes, the entity announced this Tuesday, the 31st. In releasing its new payment strategy, the ECB explained that it complements the strategy regarding cash and expands the retail payments strategy to also cover wholesale, business-to-business, and cross-border payments. This new payment method from the ECB and national central banks in the eurozone takes into account “the gradual adoption of new technologies, such as tokenisation and distributed ledger technology,” the entity stated. Tokenisation converts rights to a physical or financial asset, such as real estate, artwork, or shares, into a digital token on blockchains, allowing for fractionalisation and sale. This technology breaks down traditional assets, facilitating liquidity and allowing small investors to access previously inaccessible markets. Distributed ledger technology unifies financial records through a single shared ledger, significantly reducing clearing and settlement costs. “Payments are fundamental to society and are changing rapidly,” said Piero Cipollone, the ECB executive board member responsible for payments and the digital euro. The ECB is working to ensure that payments are reliable, fast, competitive, and open to innovation, whether they are retail, wholesale, business-to-business, or cross-border, the official added. Lagarde promises that the digital euro will lower fees for small businesses.