#DIGITAL ASSETS
"The digital euro has already launched." Not yet: the ECB has just selected 36 payment service providers for a 12-month test, starting in the second half of 2027, of a beta version without legal tender status.
Published on October 5, 2026 · to be rechecked on December 31, 2027
On 14 July 2026 the European Central Bank announced the selection of 36 payment service providers for a digital euro pilot project, after receiving more than 50 applications. The pilot will last 12 months from the second half of 2027. It is run at the ECB and in 19 national central banks. Providers act as distributors (giving Eurosystem staff access to a beta version) or acquirers (serving selected merchants), some doing both. The payments tested are person-to-person, online and offline, and person-to-business: points of sale, e-commerce and mobile payments.
Is the digital euro already available?
No: the pilot uses a beta version without legal tender status, tested for 12 months from the second half of 2027 with selected participants.
In other words: the ECB has selected 36 providers to test, for 12 months from the second half of 2027, a beta version of the digital euro without legal tender status.
Four caveats that belong with the number
- This is a pilot project, not a launch: the version tested is a beta without legal tender status, meaning it cannot be used as real money.
- The testers are selected participants (ECB and national central bank staff, chosen merchants), not the general public.
- The ECB describes this version as functionally and technically close to the envisaged digital euro: it is a trial and does not prejudge an issuance timetable.
- The figure of 36 providers is a selection result (out of more than 50 applications), not a measure of adoption or of European demand.
Why it still matters: nothing in your payments today: the digital euro is neither available nor mandatory, and this pilot is meant to test how it works before any decision on issuance.
For you
- Do you know which payment methods you use most often today?
- Do you know what distinguishes a central bank digital currency from the money in your bank account?
Source: European Central Bank, press release on the selection of 36 payment service providers for the digital euro pilot project, 14 July 2026 (French version also published by Banque de France).
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