According to TechFlow, on July 14, the European Central Bank announced the selection of 36 payment service providers to participate in the digital euro pilot, covering banking and non-banking institutions, spanning multiple countries in the euro area and various business models. The pilot is scheduled to launch in the second half of 2027, lasting 12 months, primarily to test the technical functions, operational processes, and user experience of the digital euro, advancing preparation work for the potential issuance of the digital euro. This pilot will adopt a test version of the digital euro close to the vision in the legislative draft, but it will not have legal tender status.
Following a call for expressions of interest issued to euro area Payment Service Providers (PSPs) in March 2026, there were over 50 applications in total, and ultimately 36 PSPs from multiple member states were selected to participate, including Deutsche Bank, Adyen, Revolut Bank, Stripe Technology Europe, Worldline, among others. The ECB stated that if the EU passes digital euro regulations in 2026, the goal is to be ready for the first issuance of the digital euro by 2029, though whether to officially issue it remains subject to subsequent decisions.
