See also
Film about the BCL's missions and tasks
BCL to participate in the ECB’s digital euro pilot
14.07.2026
The European Central Bank (ECB) is preparing a digital version of the euro - a form of central-bank money that can be stored and transferred electronically, with privacy, inclusiveness and security at its core.
Before the potential first issuance currently planned for 2029, following the adoption of the digital euro regulation, the ECB must confirm that the technology is reliable, that the operational processes are robust and that the user experience meets the expectations of citizens and merchants.
The pilot is a short-term, controlled exercise that lets the ECB and the national central banks test a beta version of the digital euro in a real-world setting while keeping the scope limited to a well‑defined group of participants.
How the pilot will be carried out
The pilot, planned to start in the second half of 2027 and to run for about 12 months, will be conducted in a tightly controlled environment. The ECB has selected 36 payment‑service providers (PSPs)--which will provide digital euro services to individual end users (distributing PSPs) and merchants (acquiring PSPs)--from across the euro area, among them, Worldline Financial Services (Europe) S.A. and Satispay Europe S.A., both registered in Luxembourg.
The pilot activities are designed to take place within a controlled and limited environment, restricted to staff from participating Eurosystem central banks, and a selected group of merchants and testing a limited set of use cases.
During the exercise, the ECB and 19 participating Eurosystem national central banks, including the BCL, will work closely with the respective selected PSPs to test the technical functionality, operational processes and user experience of a beta version of the digital euro.
Why the pilot matters
Although the pilot does not affect general public today, the insights it generates will shape the final design of the digital euro.
All official updates, the full list of approved payment‑service providers and detailed FAQs are published on the ECB’s digital euro pilot webpage.
