People in the euro area will be able to pay with the digital euro in 2029 at the earliest. At present, the legal framework is being finalised at EU level. From mid-2027 onwards, the digital euro is expected to undergo practical testing for one year.
When will the digital euro be available?
The digital euro would be launched for the general public in the euro area in 2029 at the earliest.
Work is currently underway on both the design and technical infrastructure of the digital euro. To this end, the ECB and the national central banks of the euro area are working closely with market participants. Once the legal framework has been finalised at EU level, testing can begin without delay.
An agreement on the legislative proposal for the Single Currency Package, covering both cash and the digital euro, is expected to be reached in 2026. This would be followed by a one-year pilot starting in mid-2027, during which the digital euro would be tested in a controlled environment and for selected use cases.
The Eurosystem has been working on the digital euro project since 2021. The first project phases have already been completed. The investigation phase (2021–2023) was followed by an initial preparation phase (until October 2025), during which key foundations were put in place. These included drafting a digital euro scheme rulebook, selecting providers for key system components, exploring technical solutions and testing procedures, and establishing an innovation platform.
