ECB Seeks Online Merchants for Digital Euro Pilot

The European Central Bank (ECB) has opened applications for online merchants to participate in a controlled pilot of its proposed retail central bank digital currency, the digital euro.

The application window is open until October 27th at 17:00 CET for EU-established e-commerce and mobile-commerce businesses that serve customers across at least two euro-area countries. The ECB selected 36 payment providers in July to facilitate the test payments.

The pilot will not issue a digital euro with legal-tender status, but rather a beta version that will be used to test payment rails, operating processes, and user experience under controlled conditions.