The European Central Bank is moving the digital euro from planning into testing, with dozens of payment companies joining the next stage of the project.
The ECB selected 36 payment service providers (PSPs) to participate in a digital euro pilot, according to an official announcement published Tuesday.
The list of selected PSPs includes fintechs such as Stripe and Revolut, alongside traditional banks including Deutsche Bank, UniCredit and BPCE. Revolut has recently adjusted some cryptocurrency services for EU users by phasing out support for Tether USDt.
The pilot comes as governments take different approaches to digital currencies. While Europe is expanding testing of its proposed central bank digital currency (CBDC), the US has moved to block the Federal Reserve from issuing a CBDC.
Italy tops list of digital euro pilot providers
The ECB began selecting providers from across the euro area for its digital euro pilot earlier this year, with the 12-month trial set to begin in the second half of 2027.
The central bank said it received more than 50 applications from payment companies after opening a call for interest in March 2026. The selected participants include traditional banks, payment processors and non-bank service providers.
Source: ECB
Italy has the largest number of selected participants, with seven companies joining the pilot, including UniCredit, Poste Italiane, Nexi Payments, Banca Sella, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Isybank and Numia.
Germany follows with five selected providers, while Portugal and Greece each have three. The ECB said the mix of countries is designed to create a broad testing environment, with selected providers able to offer pilot services outside their home markets.
Strong interest in digital euro pilot
ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone, who chairs the high-level task force on a digital euro, said the level of participation shows private-sector interest in helping develop the digital euro, adding that the central bank expects deeper cooperation with payment providers during the pilot.
“We look forward to deeper engagement as we work with and learn alongside European payment service providers in developing a secure, efficient and inclusive digital euro,” Cipollone said.
Related: South Korea to test tokenized government bonds with CBDC in 2027
The pilot will involve the ECB and the central banks of 19 bloc-members, including Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands, alongside payment companies and merchants testing the system before any potential token issuance.
Selected providers will have different responsibilities during the trial, with some focused on supporting user access to beta digital euro services and others helping merchants accept payments. Several companies will take on both roles, the ECB said.
Magazine: The 5 types of real world assets being tokenized fastest onchain