ECB opens the digital euro pilot to euro-area e-commerce merchants

The ECB published a call for expression of interest inviting e-commerce and mobile-commerce merchants across the euro area to join the digital euro pilot, with applications closing on 27 October 2026 and an information session for merchants on 6 October 2026. Merchants must submit a participation agreement, a questionnaire and a declaration form.

The merchant call follows the selection of 36 payment service providers announced on 14 July 2026, drawn from more than 50 applicants. The 12-month pilot is due to start in the second half of 2027.

Until now the digital euro was a project PSPs were being recruited into; this is the first time the acceptance side is being asked to sign up, which is where a central bank digital currency either gets checkout real estate or does not. The merchants who join will shape the integration pattern, the checkout flow and the cost expectations that every other merchant inherits, and acquirers will be asked to support whatever those pilot merchants agree to.

Which merchants and verticals are selected by the 27 October deadline, whether large pan-European retailers appear alongside smaller ones, and whether the pilot specifies merchant-side costs.

• ecb.europa.eu