ECB opens merchant applications for controlled 2027 digital euro pilot

The European Central Bank has opened applications for online merchants to join a controlled pilot of the digital euro, its proposed retail central bank digital currency. The move brings the 2027 test closer to online checkout, but it does not put an issued digital euro into public circulation.The Sept. 15 merchant call gives EU-established e-commerce and mobile-commerce businesses until 17:00 CET on Oct. 27 to apply. Applicants must serve customers across at least two euro-area countries included in the pilot and operate an active platform flexible enough to integrate the test payment flow.The beta will not constitute the digital euro defined under the proposed EU Regulation and will not carry legal-tender status. That boundary is central to the exercise: it lets the Eurosystem test payment rails, operating processes and user experience under controlled conditions without making the instrument ordinary public money.Testing the path from provider to checkoutMerchants selected for the pilot will need to contract and integrate with an acquiring payment service provider. The ECB selected 36 providers in July for acquiring, distributing, or dual roles, creating the network needed to con...