ECB seeks online merchants for 2027 digital euro pilot

The European Central Bank has opened applications for online and mobile merchants in the euro area to take part in a 12-month pilot of a digital euro, with submissions accepted until Oct. 27. The pilot is expected to begin in the second half of 2027 and will focus on payments made in remote commerce environments.

Participating merchants will enable beta digital euro payments at checkout so the ECB can evaluate user experience, technical functionality and operational processes. The bank says the beta implementation will mirror the currency outlined in the draft legislation, while explicitly noting that the test version will not constitute legal tender.

Participation in the pilot is voluntary and unpaid. Applicants will be assessed on criteria including market reach, operational readiness and suitability. Businesses chosen for the pilot must also establish or adapt a commercial relationship with one of the payment service providers taking part in the project.

In July the ECB selected 36 payment service providers from more than 50 applicants to support the pilot; named participants include Revolut, Stripe, Deutsche Bank and UniCredit. Those providers have been assigned roles to support user access, merchant acceptance or both. The ECB said merchant feedback gathered during the pilot will feed into design decisions, and a final determination on issuing a digital euro will only follow the adoption of the relevant EU legislation.