European Central Bank publishes digital euro innovation platform findings and will launch a second experimentation round in 2026

The European Central Bank has published a report on the first iteration of its digital euro innovation platform, finding that a digital euro could enable new payment innovations and support financial inclusion. The ECB also decided to run a second round of market experimentation in 2026 to further develop these use cases. The platform brought together almost 70 participants, including merchants, fintechs, start-ups, academia, banks and other payment service providers, across “visionaries” (ideas and long-term potential) and “pioneers” (technical experimentation). Both streams highlighted the need for harmonised standards, shared infrastructure and continued collaboration to support a scalable and usable digital euro. Conditional payments, triggered automatically when predefined conditions are met, were identified as a potential driver of innovation and were tested in a simulated environment, including consumer scenarios such as release of funds on delivery confirmation, automated reimbursements and fare optimisation for mobility and public transport, as well as business-to-business payments where the report points to lower fragmentation and costs alongside increased standardisation and liquidity. Other tested concepts included integrated, strongly encrypted electronic receipts and wallet features aimed at inclusion and accessibility, such as tailored wallets for children and students and interfaces supporting voice control, large fonts and guided onboarding. The ECB said it will announce more details on the second experimentation round in the first half of 2026 and noted that the use cases explored remain at an experimental stage as the Eurosystem continues engagement with stakeholders on the digital euro’s design.