The European Central Bank (ECB) has selected 36 payment service providers (PSPs) from various euro area countries to participate in the digital euro pilot project. This project is crucial for testing the technical functions and operational processes of the digital euro, and it will help improve user experience. The pilot project will help prepare for the potential issuance of the digital euro.
The project is planned to start in the second half of 2027 and will last 12 months, according to a press release from the Bank of Lithuania.
From Lithuania, “Revolut Bank” will participate in the pilot project. “With a unified banking infrastructure across all 27 EU markets, we are pleased to assist the ECB and national central banks in testing this system in a pilot environment before the planned project launch in the second half of 2027,” the bank commented.
After the call for applications to participate in the digital euro pilot project was announced in March 2026, the Eurosystem received more than 50 PSP applications, demonstrating strong market interest and engagement. Applications were evaluated based on predefined criteria. The selected participants, including banks and non-bank service providers, are very diverse in terms of their business models, size, and geographical coverage, which will help ensure a varied and realistic testing and learning environment for the digital euro.
“The strong market interest in the pilot project shows the private sector’s readiness to actively participate and rapidly contribute to the implementation of the digital project, thereby strengthening the European payment system,” said ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone, Chair of the High-Level Digital Euro Task Force. “We look forward to even closer cooperation with European payment service providers in creating a secure, efficient, and accessible digital euro for all, while sharing knowledge and practical experience.”
“The digital euro would be a European means of payment, providing privacy similar to cash and functioning even when there is no internet connection. The Bank of Lithuania is actively involved in this project and we are pleased that a licensed participant from our country will be involved in the digital euro trials,” said Evaldas Ruzgys, member of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania.
The pilot project will test the beta version of the digital euro. From a functional and technical perspective, the beta version of the digital euro will operate similarly to what is foreseen in the draft legislation, but it will not yet have the status of legal tender.
Some selected PSPs will provide Eurosystem staff with the opportunity to try the beta version digital euro services – i.e., to open a pilot digital euro account and make payments. Other PSPs will help selected merchants accept payments in beta digital euro. Some PSPs will perform both functions.
The pilot project will be conducted by the ECB and the national central banks of 19 euro area countries: Ireland, Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Greece, Spain, Italy, Cyprus, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, France, Slovakia, Slovenia, Finland, and Germany. The pilot project foresees the possibility for selected PSPs to provide pilot services in other countries, not only those where they are established.
The pilot project will involve ECB and participating national central bank staff, e-commerce businesses, and merchants providing daily services in central bank premises (such as cafes and canteens). Staff of participating central banks will be able to make payments in beta version digital euro between individuals (both online and offline) and settle with merchants both in physical retail locations (including payments using point-of-sale software “SoftPOS”) and on e-commerce platforms, including mobile payments.
The pilot project will also help improve the design and user experience of the digital euro. The latest information about the project’s progress will be continuously published on a dedicated ECB website section for the digital euro pilot project. Soon, the selected PSPs, working closely with their national central banks and the ECB, will carry out the necessary preparations for the pilot project.
