The European Central Bank has selected 36 payment service providers from across the euro area to join the digital euro pilot, a 12-month exercise due to start in the second half of 2027. The pilot will test the digital euro’s technical functionality, operational processes and user experience as part of the Eurosystem’s preparatory work for a potential issuance. It will use a beta version that is functionally and technically close to the digital euro envisaged in the draft legislation, but without legal tender status. The Eurosystem received more than 50 applications after its March 2026 call for expressions of interest. Selected participants include banks and non-bank providers and were chosen against pre-defined eligibility criteria, with the final group intended to provide a diverse mix of business models, sizes and geographic coverage. Some providers will act as distributing PSPs, giving ECB and national central bank staff access to beta digital euro services such as account set-up and payments, while others will act as acquiring PSPs serving selected merchants so they can receive beta digital euro payments. The pilot will run at the ECB and 19 euro-area national central banks, covering person-to-person and person-to-business payments online and offline, including physical point of sale, Software Point of Sale, e-commerce and mobile payments. Selected PSPs will now work with their respective national central banks and the ECB on preparations for the pilot. The ECB said it will publish regular progress updates on its dedicated digital euro pilot webpage.

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