Digital Transformation of Money and Payments in the EU: Regulatory and Economic Perspectives (DigiPay-EU)

Obrisani Korisnik — Tue, 09 Jun 2026 06:16:17 GMT

A. PROJECT MANAGER

Name and surname: Dr. Marta Božina Beroš, PhD

Academic position: Full Professor

Faculty/Unit: Faculty of Economics and Tourism “Dr. Mijo Mirković”

Scientific field and discipline: Economics, Finance

B. PROJECT / ACTIVITY INFORMATION

Funding category: FET-FNP-2026 project proposal for financing scientific research at the Faculty of Economics and Tourism

Project title: Digital Transformation of Money and Payments in the EU: Regulatory and Economic Perspectives (DigiPay-EU)

Planned duration: 24 months (12.5.2026.-12.5.2028.)

Requested funding amount (EUR): €5,000.00

Abstract (up to 300 words)

The project “Digital Transformation of Money and Payments in the EU: Regulatory and Economic Perspectives” (acronym: DigiPay-EU) examines the economic and regulatory effects of the digital transformation of the European monetary and payments landscape, marked by several parallel regulatory interventions: the European Central Bank’s digital euro project, the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCAR), the revised framework for payment services (PSD3/PSR), and the reform of the anti-money laundering framework (AML/AMLD6).

Each of these instruments is currently the subject of extensive academic and policy debate. However, the interactions and cumulative effects of these regulatory initiatives on financial stability, monetary policy, and consumer protection have not yet been studied through a holistic research approach.

The purpose of this project is therefore to fill this research gap through an interdisciplinary investigation situated at the intersection of monetary economics, financial law, and EU political economy.

DigiPay-EU has four specific objectives:

To analyse the impact of the digital euro on monetary transmission and banking intermediation.
To evaluate MiCAR from the perspective of market efficiency and systemic risk.
To assess the impact of the PSD3/PSR framework on payment market competitiveness and the development of open banking.
To critically analyse the institutional architecture of the new anti-money laundering framework in the context of financial digitalisation.

Methodologically, the project combines qualitative and quantitative methods, including descriptive analysis, semi-structured interviews, and basic econometric analysis.

Project results will be published in the form of two original scientific papers in internationally peer-reviewed high-impact journals indexed in WoS/Scopus databases, presented at international scientific conferences, and disseminated to student and professional communities through targeted engagement with partner institutions of significant social and international relevance.

Keywords (up to 5)

Digital euro
Payment services regulation
Crypto-assets
Anti-money laundering
Financial inclusion

C. PROJECT COLLABORATORS

No.	Name	Position	Institution	Role
1	Manuel Benazić, PhD	Full Professor (tenured)	Faculty of Economics and Tourism “Dr. Mijo Mirković”, Juraj Dobrila University of Pula	Research collaborator
2	Dean Učkar, PhD	Full Professor (tenured)	Faculty of Economics and Tourism “Dr. Mijo Mirković”, Juraj Dobrila University of Pula	Research collaborator
3	Gabriella Gimigliano, PhD	Associate Professor	Department of Business and Law, University of Siena	External research collaborator
4	Ivana Parać	—	Croatian National Bank	External research collaborator
5	Sandra Krtalić, PhD	Full Professor (tenured)	Fiscal Policy Commission of the Republic of Croatia / Faculty of Economics and Tourism “Dr. Mijo Mirković”, Juraj Dobrila University of Pula	External research collaborator

D. EXPECTED RESULTS AND CONTRIBUTION

The project will generate a series of original scientific contributions that address identified research gaps in understanding the digital transformation of the European monetary landscape. The scientific contribution of the project lies in the first systematic and interdisciplinary analysis of the interactions between the digital euro, MiCAR, PSD3/PSR, and the AML framework, as well as in the development of an analytical framework for monitoring the cumulative regulatory effects within the EU payments ecosystem.

The results will be valuable not only to the academic community but also to policymakers, regulatory authorities, and market participants.

Planned publications and dissemination activities include:

Two original scientific articles in internationally peer-reviewed journals indexed in WoS/Scopus databases (open-access publication; targeted journals include: Journal of Financial Regulation, European Business Organization Law Review, Journal of Banking Regulation, Ekonomska misao i praksa).
Presentation of two papers at international scientific conferences (e.g., SUERF, UACES, FET, and others).
Dissemination of research findings and conclusions to FET students through the organization of a roundtable discussion and/or field teaching activities at one of the partner institutions (Croatian National Bank, Fiscal Policy Commission of the Republic of Croatia).

UNIPU - DigiPay-EU

Digital Transformation of Money and Payments in the EU: Regulatory and Economic Perspectives (DigiPay-EU)

A. PROJECT MANAGER

B. PROJECT / ACTIVITY INFORMATION

C. PROJECT COLLABORATORS

D. EXPECTED RESULTS AND CONTRIBUTION