ECB Opens Digital Euro Pilot to Merchants From 2027

The euro area’s central bank wants e-commerce and mobile-commerce merchants for a 12-month pilot starting in the second half of 2027, ahead of possible issuance in 2029

The European Central Bank has invited e-commerce and mobile-commerce merchants across the euro area to join a 12-month digital euro pilot beginning in the second half of 2027, as it works toward a possible issuance of the currency in 2029.

According to the ECB’s Sept. 15 announcement, participating merchants will test a beta version designed to resemble the proposed digital euro, covering the technology, operational processes and user experience needed to handle payments. Importantly, the test currency will not be legal tender and will only be used within the pilot.

ECB and national central bank staff will act as consumers during the exercise, allowing merchants to test how the system would work under controlled conditions before any decision is taken on issuing a digital euro.

What the pilot will actually test

The ECB is looking specifically for merchants that can accept e-commerce and mobile-commerce payments in euros and operate within the euro area. Selected businesses will take part alongside the ECB, the 19 euro-area national central banks and payment service providers already chosen for the program.

Testing will cover several payment types expected to form part of a possible retail digital euro. Staff acting as users will make person-to-person transfers, pay at physical stores, purchase goods online and make payments through mobile-commerce channels.

The central bank has been building the technical and commercial network needed for the trial for months. In July, the ECB selected 36 payment firms for the pilot, including Deutsche Bank, Revolut, CaixaBank, BNP Paribas and ING, along with other banks and payment providers. The group will participate in the same 12-month testing program beginning in the second half of 2027, an exercise intended to give the ECB practical information on how the payment system operates before officials decide whether to proceed with a live currency.

Preparations have extended to the infrastructure merchants and payment companies would need to connect to the system. In April, the central bank signed standards agreements with the European Cards Payment Cooperation, nexo standards and the Berlin Group to reuse existing open payment specifications. The arrangements were designed to lower integration costs for merchants and banks by allowing digital euro payments to work with established European payment standards instead of requiring entirely separate technical systems.

Merchant acceptance as the commercial test

Getting merchants to accept the currency could become a separate challenge from building the payment infrastructure, according to Isadora Arredondo, vice president of global policy at Hedera.

“Many people think the digital euro’s success will depend on how governments and the public sector explain its usefulness,” Arredondo said. “But the more difficult part will be making the project work commercially.”

Merchant participation would need to reach sufficient scale so consumers can use the currency without regularly encountering businesses that do not accept it, she said. Payment costs could form part of that calculation, and one possible incentive would be for payment service providers to reduce the fees charged to merchants for accepting digital euro transactions.

The ECB has already been working on how merchants and payment providers could prepare their systems before a final issuance decision. Executive Board member Piero Cipollone said in March that the central bank expected to establish digital euro standards ahead of the pilot so companies could begin adapting payment terminals and applications.

Issuance still requires legislation

Technical preparation does not mean the currency has received final approval. The pilot remains separate from a live digital euro, and issuance requires the necessary European Union legislation as well as a subsequent decision by the ECB Governing Council.

The European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee advanced the legislative process in June by approving its position on the digital euro package. The proposal included provisions for offline payments, privacy protections and limits on the amount of digital euros an individual could hold. Legislative work remains unfinished, meaning the ECB cannot issue the currency solely on the basis of its technical preparations.

If the required legislation is adopted and the Governing Council approves issuance, the earliest the digital euro could reach the public is 2029. Until then, the pilot program represents the most concrete glimpse yet of how a retail CBDC would function across the eurozone’s commerce landscape.