The European Central Bank (ECB) said it is looking for experts to help draft rules on how a digital euro could play a role in everyday payments, ahead of legislative approval of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) and a decision by the bank’s governing council to issue the digital currency.
The European Central Bank said on Thursday it had opened applications to experts to help draft parts of the digital euro rulebook specifically related to ATM machines and bank card payment terminals used in stores.
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said in December that the bank had completed the technical and preparatory work on a digital currency and now needed action from political institutions. The project aims to create a public digital payment method and is currently under review by the European Council and European Parliament. If approved, the central bank has said it could launch in 2029.
A workflow will define how ATMs and point-of-sale terminals handle digital euro payments. This includes how devices connect, how offline transactions are supported, and how current payment standards support new currencies. The goal is to ensure people pay with digital euros at checkout or withdraw from cash machines across the euro zone.
The second group will design the certification process for payment instruments and infrastructure. It will set out how providers test and approve systems for accepting digital euro payments in shops and payment networks.
While the central bank works on the project, a group of 12 European banks is advancing its own version of a euro-pegged token. Banks including BBVA, ING, PNB Paribas have formed the Qivalis project, which plans to launch a euro-pegged stablecoin in the second half of 2026, aiming to provide blockchain payments without relying on U.S. dollar-backed tokens.
