European Central Bank Selects 36 Payment Institutions to Participate in Digital Euro Pilot in Second Half of 2027

Odaily reported that the European Central Bank (ECB) has announced the selection of 36 payment service providers from the euro area to participate in the digital euro pilot. The pilot will launch in the second half of 2027, lasting for 12 months, and will be conducted at the ECB and the central banks of 19 euro area countries. It will test functions such as digital euro payments, offline payments, e-commerce, and point-of-sale transactions, while optimizing user experience to prepare for the future official issuance of the digital euro. After issuing a call for expressions of interest to payment service providers in the euro area in March 2026, the ECB received over 50 applications. Ultimately, 36 payment service providers from multiple member states were selected for participation, including Deutsche Bank, Adyen, Revolut Bank, Stripe Technology Europe, Worldline, and others.