ECB signs standards deals to cut digital euro integration costs

The ECB signed deals with three standards bodies to reuse open payment standards for the digital euro and lower integration costs for banks and merchants.

The European Central Bank (ECB) said Friday it has signed agreements with three European standards bodies to reuse existing open payment standards for digital euro transactions, as it seeks to reduce integration costs for banks, merchants and payment service providers. 

According to the ECB, the agreements with the European Card Payment Cooperation, Nexo standards and the Berlin Group will allow the ECB to use standards covering contactless tap-to-pay payments, merchant-to-payment-provider connections and alias-based payments, such as transactions using a mobile phone number.

The ECB said using existing open standards would minimize adoption costs for the market and help create a uniform digital euro user experience across the euro area. However, the standards agreements remain a cost-mitigation step, not confirmation that the digital euro will be cheap to implement.

An earlier ECB analysis reported by Reuters estimated that the digital euro could cost European Union banks between 4 billion euros and 6 billion euros over four years.

The agreements show that the ECB is trying to reduce one technical barrier to digital euro adoption. However, the move does not directly resolve the broader cost question facing banks that may still need to spend billions of euros preparing systems, staff and compliance processes for a possible launch.

The standards to be included. Source: ECB

ECB prepares technical layer ahead of pilot

The ECB said the agreements are intended to encourage early coordination among payment service providers, standardization bodies and other market participants before a possible digital euro launch.

The central bank said Europe currently lacks a universally available open standard supported across payment terminals and remains heavily dependent on proprietary standards owned by international card schemes and global digital wallets.

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The standards push follows earlier signals that the ECB wants the digital euro’s technical framework clarified so banks and merchants can begin preparing their systems. On March 25, ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone said the central bank expected to announce key technical standards by the summer.

The ECB is also separately recruiting payment service providers for a 12-month digital euro pilot expected to start in the second half of 2027. On Feb. 18, the ECB said the pilot will involve a limited number of payment service providers, merchants and Eurosystem staff, with PSPs playing a central role in digital euro distribution.

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