The European Central Bank (ECB) has outlined a concrete timeline for its digital euro project, moving from research into a decisive implementation phase. Executive Board Member Piero Cipollone announced that the selection process for Payment Service Providers (PSPs) will begin in the first quarter of 2026, with a formal call for expression of interest scheduled for March 2026.
The operational pilot is slated to start in the second half of 2027 and will last for 12 months. This controlled test will involve a limited group of selected EU-licensed PSPs, merchants, and Eurosystem staff. The pilot is designed to test four primary use cases: online person-to-person payments, offline proximity payments via NFC, in-store payments using SoftPOS solutions, and e-commerce transactions.
The ECB is targeting 2029 for a potential public launch, contingent on the successful completion of the pilot and, crucially, the adoption of the necessary legal framework by EU co-legislators, which is aimed for late 2026. The project received significant political momentum on February 10, 2026, when the European Parliament voted in favor of advancing both online and offline versions of the digital currency.
Addressing concerns from commercial banks, Cipollone framed the digital euro as a mechanism to "preserve the central position of banks in payments," arguing it is a response to competitive pressures from private solutions like stablecoins. The design includes safeguards such as holding limits on individual balances to prevent large-scale deposit flight from traditional banks.
On the payments front, the ECB aims to reduce reliance on international card networks like Visa and Mastercard. Cipollone stated that merchant fees within the digital euro network will be "lower than what the international payments network... charge, but higher than what domestic payments scheme... charge." The system is also being structured to protect and interact with domestic European payment schemes.
Privacy protections are a key feature, with offline payments offering cash-like confidentiality and online payments utilizing pseudonymization to prevent the ECB from directly identifying users. Basic services for individuals will be free.
