Old World, New Coin: ECB Recruits 36 Firms for Digital Euro Dry Run 🇪🇺

The European Central Bank has selected 36 payment service providers, including Deutsche Bank, Revolut Bank, Stripe, and UniCredit, to take part in a 12-month pilot of the digital euro, the ECB announced on July 14. Testing will begin in the second half of 2027 and will be conducted at the ECB and 19 national central banks, with the goal of examining the CBDC's technical functionality, operational processes, and user experience.

The pilot is intended to support the ECB's ongoing preparatory work for a potential retail digital euro. The European Union has set a target launch window of 2029, following the implementation of the bloc's Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulatory framework.

The roster of 36 PSPs spans both banks and non-bank payment firms operating across the euro area. The ECB did not immediately disclose the full list but said participants were drawn from a cross-section of established financial institutions and newer payment companies.

The move comes as the United States has stepped back from retail CBDC development for the foreseeable future. US policymakers have signaled that any federal digital currency effort will not move forward until at least 2030, leaving the European initiative as one of the most advanced major-economy CBDC programs in development.

ECB officials have framed the digital euro as a response to declining cash usage and the growing role of private stablecoins and tokenized payment products in European commerce. The pilot will focus on settlement flows, offline functionality, and integration with existing point-of-sale and e-commerce infrastructure.

No decision on issuance has been made, and the ECB has repeatedly stressed that a digital euro would complement, rather than replace, physical cash.