ECB Names 36 Payment Firms for Digital Euro Pilot
July 14, 2026 – 12:22 pm
Deutsche Bank, UniCredit, Revolut, Stripe, and Adyen are among the firms selected for the pilot program. The 12-month trial, starting in late 2027, will use a beta version of the digital euro, which will not be legal tender.
The European Central Bank (ECB) revealed the list of 36 payment service providers on Tuesday, representing over 50 applicants from 16 of the 21 euro area member states. The selected companies range from traditional banks like Deutsche Bank and UniCredit to innovative fintechs such as Revolut, Stripe, and Adyen, as well as smaller players like SumUp, Satispay, and Worldline.
The pilot aims to test the digital euro in various scenarios, including online and mobile commerce, tap-to-pay at point of sale, offline person-to-person payments via NFC, and online person-to-person transfers. It will involve 36 providers split into distributing and acquiring roles, with testing conducted at ECB and national central banks across Europe.
"The strong market interest in the pilot shows the private sector’s readiness to engage actively and quickly advance with the digital euro project," said Piero Cipollone, ECB executive board member and chair of the high-level task force on the project.
This announcement follows an interview with Jornal de Negócios where Cipollone emphasized the importance of observing actions rather than just talking about them regarding the digital euro’s progress.