The ECB will work with ECPC, nexo and the Berlin Group to reuse open payment standards, reduce the costs of digital euro integration and pave the way for pilots in 2027 and implementation in 2029.
The European Central Bank (ECB) has signed agreements with three European standards bodies to reuse existing open technical specifications for processing digital euro payments, with the aim of reducing integration costs and accelerating adoption across the euro area. Under the agreement, the European Card Payments Cooperation (ECPC), NEXO Standard and the Berlin Group will align the framework to enable payment providers to support digital euro transactions without the need for expensive bespoke POS terminals or online system upgrades.
Standards covered include ECPC’s CPACE protocol for tap-to-pay near-field communications, nexo’s ISO 20022-based acceptance specification, and Berlin Group’s open interfaces for account-to-account and card-based payments. By building a digital euro on top of these existing rails, the ECB hopes to provide a “free European alternative to the current proprietary standards” dominated by global card schemes and digital wallets, said board member Piero Cipollone. “Open digital euro standards will provide a free European alternative to current proprietary standards, ease market entry for new European providers, and give European payment service providers and merchants the certainty they need to invest, innovate and compete across the euro area,” Cipollone said.
ECB aims for cheaper rollout for banks and merchants
The ECB argues that reusing open standards will help minimize scheme and implementation costs at a time when banks face billions of euros in IT costs to adapt to potential central bank digital currencies. Previous estimates cited by Reuters suggested that implementing a digital euro could cost European banks between 4 billion euros and 6 billion euros over four years, equivalent to about 3% of their annual IT maintenance budgets, highlighting why avoiding custom builds is important for political buy-in.
ECPC CEO Anna Grade called the deal a “huge step” for the consortium’s CPACE standard, and said it would “further increase the standard’s profile and market presence” as part of the Digital Euro project. Nexo Standard chairman Jean-Philippe Jolibaud added that the collaboration “confirms Nexo Standard’s position as an international and collaborative standards body for payment acceptance, supporting interoperability across the payments ecosystem.”
Next steps for launch in 2029
The agreement comes as EU lawmakers work to finalize digital euro regulations, due to be introduced in 2026, allowing for serious investment by payments companies. The ECB said it plans to publish the full technical standard by this summer, with a 12-month pilot focusing on person-to-person and point-of-sale payments scheduled for the second half of 2027, and could be ready for publication around 2029 if the legal framework is approved.
Officials envision a digital euro as a way to strengthen Europe’s monetary sovereignty and reduce dependence on large non-European payment services such as Visa, Mastercard and PayPal, while providing merchants with access to publicly backed, low-fee payment options alongside cash and bank deposits. “This partnership demonstrates our strong commitment to ensuring that the digital euro aligns with existing European standards that are also available to the private sector,” Cipollone said, arguing that early standardization is key to a smooth rollout.
