Frankfurt (Germany), 14 July (LaPresse) – The European Central Bank has selected 36 banks and payment service providers (PSPs) from the euro area to take part in the digital euro pilot project. These include seven Italian institutions: Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Banca Sella, Isybank, Nexi Payments, Numia, Poste Italiane and UniCredit. Other major international groups involved include Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas, Banco Comercial Português (BCP), Raiffeisen Bank International, National Bank of Greece, Piraeus Bank and Bank of Cyprus, as well as fintech and payment providers such as Adyen, Revolut Bank, Stripe, SumUp and Worldline. The trial will serve to test the technical functionality, operational processes and user experience of the future European digital currency, as part of the preparatory phase for its possible introduction. The project will begin in the second half of 2027 and will run for 12 months. The ECB received over 50 applications in response to the call for expressions of interest launched in March 2026, selecting banks and other operators on the basis of criteria relating to the representativeness of their business models, size and geographical coverage. “The strong market interest demonstrates that the private sector is ready to contribute to the development of the digital euro and to the strengthening of the European payments system,” said Piero Cipollone, a member of the ECB’s Executive Board and chair of the task force on the digital euro. The project will use a beta version of the digital euro, which is technically very similar to that envisaged in the European legislative proposal, but does not yet have the status of legal tender. Some operators will provide digital euro distribution services, enabling Eurosystem staff to open beta accounts and make payments, whilst others will operate on the acceptance side at selected merchants. The tests will involve staff from the ECB and the central banks of 19 euro area countries, including the Bank of Italy, and will cover payments between individuals and to businesses, both online and at physical points of sale, including offline transactions. The results of the trial will help to define the architecture and user experience of the digital euro ahead of a possible future issuance.
ECB: 36 banks to test the digital euro, including seven Italian institutions
Frankfurt (Germany), 14 July (LaPresse) – The European Central Bank has selected 36 banks and payment service providers (PSPs) from the euro area to take part in the digital euro pilot project. These include seven Italian institutions: Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Banca Sella, Isybank, Nexi Payments, Numia, Poste Italiane and UniCredit. Other major international groups involved include Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas, Banco Comercial Português (BCP), Raiffeisen Bank International, National Bank of Greece, Piraeus Bank and Bank of Cyprus, as well as fintech and payment providers such as Adyen, Revolut Bank, Stripe, SumUp and Worldline. The trial will serve to test the technical functionality, operational processes and user experience of the future European digital currency, as part of the preparatory phase for its possible introduction. The project will begin in the second half of 2027 and will run for 12 months. The ECB received over 50 applications in response to the call for expressions of interest launched in March 2026, selecting banks and other operators on the basis of criteria relating to the representativeness of their business models, size and geographical coverage. “The strong market interest demonstrates that the private sector is ready to contribute to the development of the digital euro and to the strengthening of the European payments system,” said Piero Cipollone, a member of the ECB’s Executive Board and chair of the task force on the digital euro. The project will use a beta version of the digital euro, which is technically very similar to that envisaged in the European legislative proposal, but does not yet have the status of legal tender. Some operators will provide digital euro distribution services, enabling Eurosystem staff to open beta accounts and make payments, whilst others will operate on the acceptance side at selected merchants. The tests will involve staff from the ECB and the central banks of 19 euro area countries, including the Bank of Italy, and will cover payments between individuals and to businesses, both online and at physical points of sale, including offline transactions. The results of the trial will help to define the architecture and user experience of the digital euro ahead of a possible future issuance.
