ECB picks 36 providers for digital euro pilot starting in 2027

The European Central Bank has selected 36 banks and payment firms, including Deutsche Bank, UniCredit, BPCE, Revolut Bank UAB, Stripe Technology and Adyen N.V., for a 12-month digital euro pilot due to begin in the second half of 2027, marking a major testing phase ahead of any decision on whether to issue the retail central bank digital currency. The pilot will test real-world retail payment scenarios across the 19 euro-area countries, including in-store transactions and person-to-person transfers, as the ECB assesses scalability, user experience and operational efficiency. All 19 euro-area national central banks will collaborate on the effort. The ECB has said it aims to be ready for a possible issuance in 2029, but that timeline depends on EU legislators approving the required legal framework in 2026. The project carries estimated external development costs of about 265 million euros before issuance. The ECB is positioning privacy as a central feature, using data minimization, pseudonymous identifiers and offline anonymity features designed to make some payments function more like cash. ECB officials have said the design would meet the highest privacy standards in electronic payments, with the ECB itself not able to access individual transaction data. The initiative comes as the ECB seeks to strengthen European payment infrastructure, respond to declining cash use and reduce dependence on foreign payment systems. A broadly adopted digital euro could also compete directly with euro-denominated stablecoins in payment use cases.