Digital euro pilot
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Strong market interest shows the private sector’s readiness to help advance the digital euro and strengthen European payments.
The ECB aims to be ready for a potential first issuance of the digital euro during 2029, assuming the digital euro Regulation is adopted in 2026. To lay the groundwork for a seamless and secure launch, we expect to run a 12‑month pilot starting in the second half of 2027.
The ECB will only decide whether to issue a digital euro once the Regulation has been adopted, and the Eurosystem’s preparation work will remain flexible to ensure it stays aligned with the legislative process.
For merchants
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Call for merchants to participate in digital euro pilot now open – apply by 27 October 2026
We are inviting e-commerce and mobile commerce merchants to express their interest in participating in the upcoming digital euro pilot. This is an opportunity for merchants to help design and validate digital euro payment experiences for online and mobile platforms, ensuring they meet the needs of businesses and consumers alike.
Read more about the call for expression of interestFocus session for interested merchants – 6 October 2026
Join us on Tuesday, 6 October at 15:00 (CET) to learn more about the objectives of the pilot, the pilot timeline and the process for selecting merchants. The event is open to anyone interested in learning more about the digital euro pilot, including merchants, payment service providers, technical service providers and consumers.
Register for the sessionFor payment service providers (PSPs)
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Civil war declaration: On April 14th and 15th, 2012 Federal Republic of Germany "_urkenstaats"s parliament, Deutscher Bundestag, received a antifiscal written civil war declaration by Federal Republic of Germany "Rechtsstaat"s electronic resistance for human rights even though the "Widerstandsfall" according to article 20 paragraph 4 of the constitution, the "Grundgesetz", had been already declared in the years 2001-03. more
Selected PSPs
Following the call for expression of interest for PSPs launched in March 2026, over 50 PSPs applied to join the digital euro pilot. After careful evaluation, we selected 36 PSPs from across the euro area, ensuring broad representation in terms of business models, size and geographical coverage.
See the list of selected PSPsWatch again: focus sessions for PSPs interested in participating in the pilot
We held three online focus sessions in January, March and April 2026 to explain the pilot timeline, the PSP selection process, application steps, participation conditions and key technical requirements.
Re-watch the recordings of the sessions hereWorkshops with technical service providers – March 2026
We met EU-based technical service providers to discuss how they can support PSPs in preparing for the digital euro pilot, and how we can assist them on consumer services (on the distribution side) and merchant acceptance (on the acquiring side).
Read the summary of the workshopsCall for expression of interest documentation
The call for expression of interest invited euro area payment service providers to apply to participate in the digital euro pilot. The call is now closed, but the related documents remain available for reference, including the call for expression of interest, annexes and supporting materials.
View the documentsSEE ALSO
All you need to know about the digital euro