ECB Pilots Digital Euro With 36 Payment Firms for 2029 Launch as EU Seeks Payment Sovereignty
Updated
Updated · DW (English) · Jul 24
ECB Pilots Digital Euro With 36 Payment Firms for 2029 Launch as EU Seeks Payment Sovereignty
3 articles · Updated · DW (English) · Jul 24
Summary
Thirty-six payment service providers, including banks and fintechs, have been selected to test the ECB’s digital euro design, user experience and merchant rollout ahead of a possible 2029 issuance.
The ECB frames the digital euro as a public digital form of cash that would complement notes and private payment apps, giving consumers a euro-area-wide payment option as transactions move online.
Merchant fees under the draft legislation would be capped, with banks still able to charge for value-added services; the ECB says broad merchant acceptance is critical because the digital euro would carry legal-tender status.
The project still depends on EU legislation now in trilogue talks, which ECB officials said could provide the legal basis by the end of the year before wider technical rollout continues.
ECB officials and industry participants cast the pilot as part of Europe’s push for digital sovereignty, aiming to reduce reliance on fragmented or non-European payment networks rather than copy Brazil’s Pix system directly.