FRANKFURT (Reuters) -A digital version of the euro is needed so that residents of the euro zone can continue to make payments even during disruptions such as cyberattacks on banks, European Central Bank board member Piero Cipollone said on Thursday.

"The digital euro will ensure that all Europeans can pay at all times with a free, universally accepted digital means of payment, even in case of major disruptions," Cipollone told the European Parliament.

(Reporting By Francesco Canepa; editing by Balazs Koranyi)