ECB Invites Fintechs and PSPs into Digital Euro Experimentation
The European Central Bank (ECB) has launched a call for companies and other organizations to join its digital euro experimentation project. The ECB's digital euro innovation platform, launched in 2024, will host two tracks: experimentation and exploration.
The experimentation track aims to turn promising ideas into working solutions by building on four key areas: e-receipts, payments with several payers or payees, conditional payments, and payment app features. For example, the ECB will explore how e-receipts could appear in payment apps while protecting user privacy.
The exploration track, on the other hand, will focus on studying how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can work with a digital euro. Topics include AI agents, their interactions, micropayments, and how ideas fit with principles such as privacy by design, user control, and data protection.
Workshops for the exploration track are set to run at the ECB's premises in the first half of 2027. Applications close on November 9th, 2026, and the ECB encourages joint entries from organizations that combine different roles, such as merchants and payment service providers (PSPs).
The ECB will review applications based on factors like innovation potential, expertise, technical readiness for the experimentation track, and a mix of regions and industries. Full details are available on the ECB website.