European Central Bank selects 36 payment providers for digital euro pilot starting 2027

The European Central Bank (ECB) has chosen 36 payment service providers—both banks such as UniCredit, Deutsche Bank and Monte dei Paschi, and fintech firms like Revolut, Stripe and Satispay—to take part in a digital euro pilot. The pilot will begin in the second half of 2027 and run for twelve months, using a beta version of the digital euro that is technically similar to the proposed final design but has no legal‑tender status.

Participants will test the technical functionality, operational processes and user experience of the retail central‑bank digital currency. Staff from the ECB and 19 national central banks across the euro area (including Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland) will conduct peer‑to‑peer transfers, merchant payments online and offline, and point‑of‑sale transactions. The ECB says the strong market interest—over 50 applications were received—shows the private sector’s readiness to help strengthen Europe’s payments ecosystem, reduce reliance on U.S. card networks and provide a public alternative to stablecoins. ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone highlighted that the pilot will inform policy decisions on a possible full‑scale digital euro, which could be introduced as early as 2029.

The initiative aims to safeguard European monetary sovereignty, improve payment innovation and ensure the digital euro complements cash rather than replaces it.