The European Central Bank has opened applications for a new digital euro innovation initiative aimed at fintech startups, payment processors, retailers, technology vendors, consumer organizations and academic institutions. The program has two tracks: a hands-on experimentation phase from January through June 2027 and exploratory research workshops at the ECB's Frankfurt facility during early 2027. Prototype work will cover digital receipts, shared payments for group expenses, conditional transactions and user-facing interfaces, while workshops will examine AI agents, extremely small-value transactions, device-to-device commerce, privacy-by-design, user autonomy and possible public-sector uses such as transit fares and utility payments. Applications close at 17:00 CET on November 9, 2026, and selected participants will be invited to present their results at ECB headquarters. The initiative is separate from another 2027 testing program for 36 financial institutions and payment companies, including Revolut, Stripe and Deutsche Bank. The digital euro remains subject to European Union legislative approval and formal authorization from the ECB governing council. A previously reported timetable pointed to a pilot from mid-2027 and a full rollout in 2029, but those milestones remain contingent on the approval process.