A pilot planned for 2027
When could anyone actually pay with one? Not before a trial run. The ECB’s pilot page plans a 12-month pilot starting in the second half of 2027, with 36 payment service providers chosen from more than 50 that applied after a call in March 2026.
Staff from the ECB and 19 national central banks will test a beta version at places such as cafeterias, and selected merchants join them. The bank says the outcome of its merchant selection will be announced by early 2027.
Issuance itself is further off. The ECB aims to be ready for a first digital euro during 2029, assuming the necessary EU law is adopted in the course of 2026. The project’s investigation phase ran from October 2021 to October 2023 and its preparation phase from November 2023 to October 2025, after which the Governing Council decided to move on.
What the Commission proposed
The legal draft is the Commission’s proposal for a regulation on the establishment of the digital euro, COM(2023) 369, presented on June 28, 2023 in a package with a second proposal protecting the use of cash. Its factsheet promises a service free of charge for consumers, usable without a bank account or an internet connection.
Offline payments are supposed to feel like cash. A bank would see the same data as for an ATM withdrawal, the factsheet says, and the ECB would not have access to your data. If Parliament and the Council agree the law, the final decision to issue still rests with the ECB, according to the Commission’s digital euro page.
The limit on holdings, and the bill
Nobody would be able to hold an unlimited amount. The ECB’s FAQ says each user would face a cap, to stop large outflows from bank deposits, and that a linked bank account would cover payments above it. No interest would be paid, as with banknotes.
The FAQ gives no figure for it. At the request of the co-legislators, the ECB tested hypothetical limits of up to €3,000 per person and concluded that day-to-day use would not harm financial stability.
Building it is expected to cost €1.3 billion, with running costs of around €320 million a year once it is issued. For banks the ECB estimates €4 billion to €5.8 billion to implement, well below earlier industry figures.
What it is not
There is nothing to invest in. The ECB warns of emails, letters and fake websites asking people to invest in the digital euro or join its pilot, and says it never asks for investments, money or personal information.
The digital euro would not replace cash either, since the FAQ says banknotes stay legal tender alongside it. Nor is it a euro stablecoin. Privately issued euro tokens, MiCA compliant stablecoins included, depend on how well a company manages its reserves, while the digital euro would be issued and guaranteed by the Eurosystem. Watch the European Parliament and Council vote in 2026, since the 2029 timetable hangs on it.