ECB Selects Payment Standards for Digital Euro Infrastructure

The European Central Bank (ECB) has taken a concrete step toward launching the digital euro by signing agreements with three major European payment standardization organizations. Technologies from ECPC, nexo standards, and Berlin Group will be integrated into the eurozone's future CBDC payment system for processing online transactions.

"The ECB has signed agreements with three leading European standard setters to facilitate digital euro online payments. By reusing existing standards, we can help private European payment solutions minimise costs and increase their geographical reach" — European Central Bank (@ecb), original post

Why This Matters

Selecting specific payment standards marks a significant milestone on the road to a eurozone central bank digital currency. The ECB's strategy centers on leveraging existing open protocols rather than building proprietary ones from scratch. This approach is expected to substantially reduce integration costs for banks, payment service providers, and merchants. It also directly addresses the ECB's broader goal of reducing Europe's dependence on international card networks and global digital wallets — a concern the regulator frames as a matter of EU financial sovereignty.

Which Technologies Were Chosen

According to the ECB's announcement, each organization covers a distinct segment of payment infrastructure:

• CPACE from European Card Payment Cooperation (ECPC) — handles contactless tap-to-pay transactions via NFC;
• nexo standards — provides interoperability between merchant point-of-sale equipment and payment providers;
• Berlin Group — delivers solutions for phone-number-based transfers and mobile app transactions.

By reusing established open standards, the ECB expects to accelerate infrastructure deployment and avoid the time and expense of developing new payment protocols.

Scaling Plans and Launch Timeline

The ECB believes that unified open standards will enable European payment solutions to scale beyond national markets without costly terminal upgrades and infrastructure overhauls.

ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone described the digital euro as a "European free alternative to existing proprietary standards" that should give banks and businesses the confidence to invest and innovate.

The tentative target for the first issuance of the digital euro remains 2029, contingent on the passage of required EU legislation by the end of this year. Earlier in January, Cipollone justified the creation of a European digital payment system as essential to protecting EU sovereignty.