Start now →

ECB seeks experts to help integrate digital euro into ATMs, card payment terminals

By Olivier Acuna · Published March 19, 2026 · 4 min read · Source: CoinDesk
RegulationPayments
PolicyShare this articleX (Twitter)LinkedInFacebookEmail

ECB seeks experts to help integrate digital euro into ATMs, card payment terminals

The European Central Bank is preparing the ground should legislators enable the issuance of a digital currency and the bank's governing council approve issuing it.

By Olivier Acuna|Edited by Sheldon RebackUpdated Mar 19, 2026, 3:01 p.m. Published Mar 19, 2026, 2:46 p.m. GoogleMake us preferred on Google
European Union Flag
The ECB's work on ATM and retail payment rails moves forward before any final decision to issue the currency. (Christian Lue / Unsplash / Modified by CoinDesk)

What to know:

The European Central Bank (ECB) said it is looking for experts to help draft rules about how a digital euro would work in everyday payments in anticipation of legislation approving a central bank digital currency (CBDC) and a decision by the bank's governing council to issue one.

The ECB opened applications for experts to help draft parts of the digital euro rulebook relating specifically to ATMs and card payment terminals used in stores, it said Thursday.

ECB President Christine Lagarde said in December the bank had completed its technical and preparatory work on the digital currency and it was now up to political institutions to act. The project, which aims to create a public digital means of payment, is under review by the European Council and the European Parliament. If approved, the central bank has signaled a potential rollout by 2029.

One workstream will define how ATMs and point-of-sale terminals process digital euro payments. This includes how devices connect, how they support offline transactions and how current payment standards can support the new currency. The goal is to ensure people pay with a digital euro at checkout or withdraw it from cash machines across the eurozone.

A second group will design a certification process for payment tools and infrastructure. It will set how providers test and approve systems used to accept digital euro payments in stores and payment networks.

While the central bank is working on the project, a group of 12 European banks are moving forward with their own version of a euro-pegged token. The banks, including BBVA, ING, PNB Paribas, have formed the Qivalis project, a plan to roll-out a euro-pegged stablecoin in the second half of 2026, aiming to offer blockchain payments without relying on dollar-backed tokens.

ECBCBDC

More For You

Major League Baseball signs prediction markets pacts with CFTC, Polymarket

By Jesse Hamilton|Edited by Nikhilesh De40 minutes ago
MLB (Brandon Sloter/Getty Images)

The arrangement between the U.S. derivatives regulator and the professional sports organization is the first of its kind in overseeing sports events contracts.

What to know:

Read full storyLatest Crypto News CoinDesk

Crypto for Advisors: Bitcoin’s price discovery

1 分前
OI By Strike Price (Deribit)

Bitcoin $20,000 put option is third most popular strike ahead of quarterly expiry

26 分前
MLB (Brandon Sloter/Getty Images)

Major League Baseball signs prediction markets pacts with CFTC, Polymarket

40 分前
CoinDesk

CoinDesk 20 performance update: NEAR Protocol (NEAR) drops 3.3%, leading index lower

1 時間前
opera browser on smartphone (Zulfugar Karimov/Unsplash/Modified by CoinDesk)

Browser maker Opera seeks 160 million CELO stake to become key network stakeholder

2 時間前
Trading screen with price monitors and charts (Yashowardhan Singh/Unsplash)

XRP treasury firm Evernorth discloses $233.7 million impairment on holdings in SPAC filing

2 時間前
Top StoriesCoinbase CEO Brian Armstrong (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)

Coinbase faces a multibillion-dollar threat from D.C. but a 'rewards' loophole could protect its stablecoin revenue

3 時間前
Oil rig operating during the sunset (Maria Lupan/Unsplash)

Bitcoin slips below $70,000 as oil surge, Fed pause weigh on risk assets

4 時間前
Crypto.com (Jesse Hamilton/Coindesk)

Crypto.com cuts 12% of staff as it integrates AI across the business for efficiency

3 時間前
Symbols of several stablecoins including USDT, USDC.

Capital is shifting into digital dollars as bitcoin wilts

3 時間前
Nasdaq sign on a building

SEC approves Nasdaq's move to support tokenized securities trading

18 時間前
A key market metric known as the "stETH discount" suggests market speculation that Celsius Network might dump a big stake. (Creative Commons, modified by CoinDesk)

Bitcoin OGs dump over $100 million in BTC after hawkish Fed dents rate cut hopes

7 時間前

Looking for a crypto payment gateway?

NexaPay lets merchants accept card payments and receive crypto. No KYC required. Instant settlement via Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, and Google Pay.

Learn More →
This article was originally published on CoinDesk and is republished here under RSS syndication for informational purposes. All rights and intellectual property remain with the original author. If you are the author and wish to have this article removed, please contact us at [email protected].

NexaPay — Accept Card Payments, Receive Crypto

No KYC · Instant Settlement · Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, Google Pay

Get Started →