The European Central Bank (ECB) has selected 36 payment service providers for a 12-month digital euro pilot due to begin in the second half of 2027. The project will test payments, account setup, merchant acceptance, and offline functionality using a beta version of the digital euro.
Key Takeaways
The ECB picked 36 providers for a 12-month digital euro pilot starting in H2 2027.Stripe joined the pilot as the ECB tests payments, merchants, and offline transactions.The pilot will test real-world use while privacy concerns remain central to adoption.The European Central Bank has selected 36 payment service providers to take part in a digital euro pilot, moving the project into a more practical testing phase after years of design work.
The pilot is expected to begin in the second half of 2027 and run for 12 months. It will take place at the ECB and 19 national central banks across the euro area, including those in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Portugal, Finland, and several others.
Pilot Will Test Real Payment FlowsThe trial will use a beta version of the digital euro. It will be close to the design currently envisioned in draft legislation, but it will not have legal tender status.
Some firms will act as distributing payment service providers, giving Eurosystem staff access to beta digital euro services such as account setup and payments. Others will act as acquiring providers, enabling selected merchants to receive beta digital euro payments. Some participants will do both.
The pilot will include person-to-person payments, both online and offline. It will also test consumer-to-business payments at physical points of sale, including software-based point-of-sale systems, as well as e-commerce and mobile payments.
Piero Cipollone, the ECB executive board member leading the digital euro task force, said the level of market interest shows “the private sector’s readiness to engage actively with the digital euro project to strengthen the European payments landscape.”
Stripe Welcomes Test, Critics Warn on ControlSuccess will depend on building a digital euro that works for the real economy: one that is easy to integrate and provides the security, reliability, and performance businesses expect from today’s payment infrastructure.
For Europe, the pilot is a key test of whether a central bank digital currency can meet real-world payment needs without undermining public trust. The technology may be ready, but the harder challenge will be convincing citizens and businesses that the digital euro is useful, private, and worth adopting.
