ECB Calls on Euro Area E-Commerce and Mobile Merchants for 12-Month Digital Euro Pilot

The European Central Bank has called on e-commerce and mobile-commerce merchants in the euro area to join a 12-month digital euro pilot beginning in the second half of 2027, with the ECB targeting possible issuance in 2029 subject to EU legislation and a separate decision by its Governing Council.E

“will not be legal tender”

CoinDesk

CoinDesk reported that the pilot will test a beta version of the currency that “will not be legal tender,” while the ECB and 19 euro-area national central banks and selected merchants will test technology, operational processes and user experience.C

bitcoin.es

The ECB’s call for expressions of interest says participating merchants will test a “beta digital euro” that is functionally and technically close to the digital euro foreseen in draft legislation but “will not have legal tender status.”

The pilot is described as involving staff from participating Eurosystem central banks, selected PSPs and selected merchants offering everyday services at the ECB and euro area national central banks, with the call specifically targeting e-commerce and m-commerce merchants.

Applications are invited to be submitted to [email protected] by 17:00 CET on Tuesday, 27 October 2026, and the ECB will hold an information session on Tuesday, 6 October 2026 at 15:00 CET.

CoinDesk said the ECB’s call for merchants is about more than technical testing, because “A digital euro will need enough places to spend it,” making merchant acceptance a commercial question as much as a policy one.C

Isadora Arredondo, vice president of global policy at Hedera, told CoinDesk via LinkedIn that “the more difficult part will be making the project work commercially,” adding that merchants would need incentives to join in sufficient numbers and avoid barriers when paying.

Bobsguide

The ECB’s materials describe participation as voluntary and unpaid, with selected merchants required to enter into a merchant participation agreement with the ECB and establish or adapt a contractual relationship with an acquiring pilot PSP for the purposes of the pilot.

CoinDesk also reported that the pilot will involve the ECB, 19 euro-area national central banks and selected merchants, with ECB and national central bank staff acting as users to test online and offline transfers between individuals, in-store payments, e-commerce purchases and mobile-commerce payments.C

In the CoinDesk account, Arredondo suggested that payment service providers could lower the fees merchants pay to accept digital-euro payments as one option to support merchant incentives.C

CoinDesk linked the merchant push to the ECB’s concern about dollar-backed stablecoins in Europe, saying the ECB views the adoption of private dollar-backed stablecoins “as a threat to Europe’s monetary autonomy.”

“as a threat to Europe’s monetary autonomy”

CoinDesk

The ECB’s call for expressions of interest states that the final decision on whether to issue a digital euro will only be taken once the relevant EU legislation has been adopted, while the pilot itself is positioned as a controlled test environment using a beta version of the digital euro.

CoinDesk said the 12-month pilot is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2027, with the ECB targeting possible issuance in 2029, subject to legislation and a separate Governing Council decision.C

Crypto News similarly framed the pilot as testing online, mobile, in-store and person-to-person payments using a beta currency that will not be legal tender, with merchants participating alongside the ECB, 19 euro-area national central banks and 36 banks and payment firms already selected for the testing program.

The ECB’s call also specifies that the pilot will be conducted transparently and that feedback collected throughout the pilot will help inform future design decisions, improve user journeys and ensure that the merchant perspective is considered as preparations for a potential digital euro continue.