Major players like Deutsche Bank, Adyen, and Revolut made the cut as Europe inches closer to a central bank digital currency
The European Central Bank (ECB) has selected 36 payment service providers to join a year-long digital euro pilot designed to evaluate the operational readiness of a potential central bank digital currency, according to a Tuesday statement.
The pilot will begin in the second half of 2027 after attracting more than 50 applications from banks and payment firms across the euro area.
The selected participants include banks and non-bank payment providers representing a broad range of business models, sizes and countries across the euro area. Participants include Adyen, Deutsche Bank, Revolut Bank UAB, Stripe Technology Europe, Worldline Financial Services, SumUp, UniCredit, Banco Comercial Português, Nexi, Poste Italiane, BPCE and others spanning 19 euro-area jurisdictions.
The pilot will run on a beta version of the digital euro that closely mirrors the proposed framework under draft legislation, although it will not carry legal tender status, as noted by the ECB.
Selected firms will either distribute beta digital euro wallets and accounts to Eurosystem staff, acquire payments for participating merchants, or perform both functions.
Testing will be conducted by the ECB and 19 national central banks and will include online and offline person-to-person payments, physical point-of-sale transactions and e-commerce purchases.
According to the ECB, the results will be used to refine the digital euro’s technology, operational processes and user experience as preparations continue for a possible future issuance.
