The European Central Bank (ECB) has established a platform to facilitate collaboration among European stakeholders in the development of the digital euro project.
This initiative includes the participation from almost 70 entities, including merchants, fintech firms, start-ups, banks, and payment service providers, all aiming to investigate the potential functionalities and use cases of a digital euro.
Go deeper with GlobalData
In response to a call for interest issued in October 2024, over 100 applications were received, with approximately 70 participants joining either or both “pioneers” and “visionaries” workstreams.
The platform is designed to emulate the anticipated digital euro ecosystem, providing ECB’s technical support and infrastructure to European intermediaries for the creation of digital payment solutions at a European level.
The “pioneers” workstream focuses on the technical aspects of implementing conditional digital euro payments, which are transactions executed automatically when predefined conditions are met, such as the delivery of an online purchase.
This stream is also tasked with identifying potential use cases for daily transactions.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataParticipants, referred to as pioneers, will explore the integration of simulated digital euro interfaces with their platforms.
Outcomes from the pioneers’ research will be summarised in a report for the ECB’s review.
The “visionaries” workstream is engaged in researching new use cases for the digital euro, particularly those that could address societal challenges like digital financial inclusion.
The visionaries will present and discuss their findings with the ECB in workshops that will continue until May 2025.
The ECB intends to publish the findings from both workstreams in a report later this year.
ECB executive board member Piero Cipollone said: “We welcome the huge amount of interest that market participants have shown in this exciting initiative. The breadth and creativity of the proposals highlights the digital euro’s potential as a catalyst for financial innovation in Europe, including the development of new solutions that further enhance the payment experience for Europeans and create market opportunities”.
In December 2024, the ECB issued second progress report, which outlines steps in the preparatory phase of the digital euro, including rulebook updates, vendor selection, and user research.
