European Central Bank invites merchants to join digital euro pilot in 2027

Eurosystem: The Eurosystem consists of the European Central Bank and the national central banks of countries using the euro, overseeing the single currency and related financial infrastructure. It has opened this expression of interest specifically for merchants to participate in the digital euro pilot at central bank premises. Feedback from this pilot will help align the project's technical and operational aspects with merchant and consumer needs across Europe. European Central Bank: The European Central Bank serves as the central bank for the euro area, managing monetary policy and the euro currency system. It is issuing the current call for e-commerce and mobile commerce merchants to join the digital euro pilot, enabling direct collaboration on testing and refining payment functionalities. The ECB coordinates these efforts with euro area national central banks to ensure broad input shapes future digital payment design. Pilot Focus: The initiative targets testing of beta digital euro functionality in realistic e-commerce and mobile commerce settings to refine payment journeys and integration. Preparatory Stage: Ongoing work remains flexible and aligned with the EU legislative process, with the final issuance decision dependent on adoption of relevant legislation. Stakeholder Collaboration: Merchants, payment service providers, and Eurosystem central banks will work together in a transparent process to incorporate practical perspectives before any potential issuance.