The European Central Bank is preparing a 2027 digital euro pilot while tying any potential 2029 issuance to EU legislation, leaving the currency’s launch dependent on negotiations still underway.
In July, the ECB named 36 payment service providers to take part in a trial planned for the second half of 2027. The Eurosystem received more than 50 applications. The experiment is set to run for a year and will use a beta version that does not count as legal tender, with central bank staff and merchants participating.
The timetable leaves a separate decision for the ECB Governing Council. In an Oct. 6 speech, Executive Board member Piero Cipollone said the ECB aims to be ready for a possible first issuance in 2029 if the legislative process is completed by the end of 2026. The Council of the European Union agreed its position in December 2025, and the European Parliament adopted its position in July 2026. Negotiations were underway as of the speech, and the European Council has called for them to finish by year-end.
In an interview with Milano Finanza conducted Oct. 21 and published Oct. 24, Cipollone described the digital euro as a public European payment option as more transactions move online. He cited Italy, where online payments rose from 6% of day-to-day transactions in 2019 to 24% in 2024.
Cipollone said about two-thirds of the online card payments he discussed use non-European schemes. Separately, the ECB has said international schemes account for two-thirds of euro-area card transactions overall, a broader measure. Cipollone said sovereignty meant having the “power to choose,” with a European option giving users another way to pay.
Small merchants could gain more bargaining room, Cipollone said, citing fees that can reach four times the rates paid by large operators. An earlier ECB letter cited a 2023 EHI Retail Institute report that put the difference at three to four times. The European Commission’s draft regulation proposes a mechanism to limit merchant fees, but the measure remains part of negotiations.
The ECB says the Eurosystem would cover the core infrastructure costs. The ECB would not maintain retail accounts; Cipollone said access would instead run through banks and other authorized intermediaries, which would keep the customer relationship. Those firms and merchants would need to adapt their systems. Legislative negotiations are the next step, with the Governing Council’s issuance decision to follow adoption of the law.
