The European Central Bank (ECB) has issued a call for expressions of interest in innovation partnerships related to the digital euro.
Interested parties can include a diverse range of stakeholders, such as small and large merchants, banks, payment service providers, fintech companies, financial institutions, research institutes, technical experts, and universities.
The primary objectives of these partnerships are to demonstrate the technical implementation of ‘conditional payments’—connecting a simulated digital euro back-end with a front-end provider; allow participants to engage with simulated digital euro interfaces; and explore additional use cases, ideas, and visions for the digital euro from various stakeholders.
Currently, the ECB is in the midst of a two-year preparation phase focused on laying the groundwork for a possible digital euro issuance. This includes an in-depth examination of the technical aspects of the project.
Previously, the ECB has conducted similar programs for prototyping digital euro front-end solutions and enabling offline payments. The technical infrastructure for the upcoming set of test runs is anticipated to be available by February next year. Successful applicants will receive a standardized contract addressing data protection, intellectual property rights, and promotional activity regulations, along with an onboarding package featuring a functional introduction to user journeys and detailed technical specifications.
This initiative is expected to continue until May 2025, with the most promising use cases invited to an on-site event to present outcomes to relevant stakeholders.
In a separate academic initiative, participants will be encouraged to submit theoretical work that proposes innovative use cases and assesses their potential effects on communities, societal challenges, and technological opportunities like tokenization.
The applications deemed most coherent and fitting within the digital euro framework, showcasing innovative potential, will be selected for half-day workshops with the ECB digital euro project team. Preference may be given to novel and challenging ideas, alongside consideration for implementation capacity.