Digital euro takes a big step: ECB picks 36 pilot partners

The European Central Bank (ECB) has selected 36 companies — from 50 applicants — to work on the pilot for the digital euro. It marks a concrete step forward for the CBDC project.

Who is taking part?

The chosen parties include well-known names: Deutsche Bank, Revolut, Adyen, SumUp, UniCredit and Worldline. They will test the digital euro in practice.

What will be tested?

The pilot looks at payments between individuals (online and offline), in-store payments and purchases in web shops. During the trial, ECB and central bank staff will pay as users at selected restaurants, cafeterias and online merchants.

Timeline: patience required

The real pilot starts in the second half of 2027 and runs for twelve months. An actual issuance is possible in 2029 at the earliest — and only if the European legislation passes and the ECB's Governing Council gives the green light. A parliamentary committee already advanced the legal framework in June 2026.

Why now?

The ECB is pressing ahead out of concern about the rise of dollar stablecoins such as USDT and USDC. Frankfurt sees them as a risk to Europe's monetary autonomy: if payments increasingly run on private, dollar-backed money, the eurozone loses its grip on its own payment infrastructure.

What does it mean for you?

Importantly, a digital euro is public money from the central bank — not crypto and not a stablecoin. It comes alongside cash, not instead of it. The pilot version has no legal status yet but is close to the design in the EU legislation. Debates about privacy and offline use (paying without internet) remain a core point.

Caveat

There are still years between this pilot and a possible digital euro in your wallet. The project is also politically sensitive: privacy, the role of banks and the question of whether such a currency is needed at all are still very much on the table.

Sources: CoinDesk, Euronews, ECB. Last checked: 23 July 2026.