ECB Seeks Private Sector Partnerships for Digital Euro Innovation

The European Central Bank (ECB) has launched a call for expressions of interest for its digital euro innovation platform, seeking participants to explore privacy-conscious payment features, AI-enabled services, and potential applications in public services. The initiative is part of preparations for a potential digital euro, with the ECB emphasizing that any decision to issue one will only be taken after relevant EU legislation has been adopted.

The experimentation workstream will support the development and testing of features including electronic integrated receipts, multi-payer and multi-payee transactions, conditional payments, and new payment-app functionalities. Participants will develop proof-of-concept solutions and report their findings between January and June 2027.

The exploration workstream will examine longer-term technological developments, including AI in payments and potential public-sector uses of a digital euro. Workshops will take place at the ECB during the first and second quarters of 2027, bringing together participants from different industries to explore potential use cases and technological developments.

Applications must be submitted by November 9, 2026, with joint applications encouraged. The initiative gives the private sector a more direct role in testing how a digital euro could work in real payment environments before decisions on issuance and final design are made.