Call for expressions of interest in innovation partnerships for the digital euro

31 October 2024

As part of the preparations for the possible issuance of a digital euro, the ECB is establishing an innovation platform to collaborate with stakeholders. These may include small and large merchants, banks, other payment service providers, fintech companies, financial institutions, research institutes, technical experts and universities.

The main goals of the partnerships are to:

• demonstrate how “conditional payments” could be implemented on a technical level (i.e. between a simulated digital euro back-end and a front-end provider)^[1];
• provide the opportunity for participants to interact with simulated digital euro interfaces^[2];
• explore additional use cases, ideas and visions that stakeholders may have for the digital euro.

Pioneer partnerships

Pioneers will test how conditional payments could look like on a simulated technical infrastructure of a digital euro.

Objectives:

The ECB is committed to exploring innovative use cases in retail payments, specifically for conditional payments, to prepare for the possible issuance of a digital euro.

It also strives to share information about the current draft design of the digital euro with those who could become part of the digital euro ecosystem. Raising awareness in this way will be another step towards establishing how the digital euro would work on a technical level.^[3]

Important details:

The project team aims to accommodate as many applicants as possible. There will be no selection process for pioneers, but applications will need to be approved to ensure they comply with formal requirements^[4][5].

Pioneers will be independent from the ECB and will have a standardised contract including data protection and IP rights and regulating promotional activities. They will be able to conduct technical testing based on their interests. Pioneers will receive an onboarding package which will include a functional introduction (e.g. user journeys) as well as the technical specifications.^[6] They will also receive technical support on a best-efforts basis.^[7] The pioneers are expected to implement conditional payments use cases using the technical infrastructure that will be provided by the ECB.

This technical infrastructure is planned to be available by February 2025. The exercise is foreseen to run until May 2025, and pioneers are invited to submit an outcome report by the end of that month. The ECB may then incorporate it into its own outcome report.

At the end of the partnerships, the ECB may invite selected pioneers to an on-site event to showcase the outcome to project stakeholders.

Visionary partnerships

Visionaries will conduct theoretical work to explore topics such as innovative use cases, community impact and social factors involving multiple stakeholders with different backgrounds.

Objectives:

The ECB welcomes independent research as part of the digital euro project.

The ECB encourages interested stakeholders to propose innovative use cases and explore their possible impact on communities, societal challenges and technological opportunities such as tokenisation.

Important details:

The ECB encourages all interested stakeholders to contribute. The partnerships will focus on a theoretical investigation of use cases for the digital euro and its social impact.

The ECB will carefully consider all applications. The most coherent applications that fit into the digital euro framework and have innovative potential will be selected for half-day workshops with the ECB digital euro project team. Every vision should outline how a concrete problem is solved by the digital euro or describe a challenge that has yet to be addressed. Applicants are expected to base their ideas on publicly available information on the digital euro.

Selected visionaries will be able to use the half-day workshops to present their idea to the ECB, and will also be asked to provide a summarising outcome report. The selection may give preference to ideas that are new and challenging to the project, and will consider implementation capacity.

The ECB expects to select visionaries in early January 2025, with the workshops starting shortly afterwards.

At the end of the partnerships, the ECB may invite selected visionaries to an on-site event to showcase the outcome to project stakeholders.

Further information

For more information on the digital euro project, see the summary report on the investigation phase and outlook on the next phase and the first progress report on the preparation phase on the ECB’s website. The digital euro glossary also provides details on terms used in the application material.

How to apply:

1. Complete the application form (Annex 5), outlining your experience and motivation.
2. Prepare an introductory presentation of no more than ten slides, describing your solution or idea. Please also indicate which partnership (visionary, pioneer or both) you are interested in.
3. Submit your application to DigitalEuroExperimentation@ecb.europa.eu by 29 November 2024, 17:00 CET. Joint applications, especially those covering different roles within a digital euro ecosystem (e.g. a merchant and a payment service provider), are encouraged.
4. If you have any questions about the application process, please contact us by emailing DigitalEuroExperimentation@ecb.europa.eu.