Eurosystem Seeks Providers of Prototype Payment Solutions for Digital Euro

Eurozone’s monetary authority, the Eurosystem, is looking to enlist financial companies willing to develop front-end solutions for the digital euro. The plan is to carry out a “prototyping exercise” this year to test transactions to the back-end developed by the regulator.

Within the ongoing investigation into the possible issuance of a digital euro currency, the Eurosystem intends to conduct an experiment which will, among other objectives, test end-to-end transactions with the central bank digital currency (CBDC), the European Central Bank (ECB) announced before the weekend.

The authority, which consists of the ECB and the central banks of the eurozone members, is looking for parties interested in offering front-end prototypes for the trials. Transactions will start at their front-end prototype and will be processed through the interface into the back-end, both developed by the Eurosystem.

Payment service providers, banks, and other relevant companies have been invited to participate as front-end providers of technical solutions designed to facilitate digital euro payments. The deadline for their applications is May 20. The prototyping exercise is scheduled to start in August and may continue until the first quarter of 2023.

The goal is to gather a pool of front-end providers with which the Eurosystem will cooperate in the development of user-facing prototypes, the announcement detailed. The authority will invite potential participants to explain the use cases for their prototypes. A limited number of providers, up to five the Eurosystem said, will then be selected.

They will sign contracts with the financial authorities of the eurozone and will be expected to organize the prototype development. Throughout the process, the providers will be able to share their feedback on the Eurosystem interface and back-end infrastructure, including by presenting specific data requirements to support a certain business model.

The project to launch a digital version of the common European currency entered its investigation phase in October, last year. In February, news came out that the European Commission is planning to propose a bill laying down the legal foundation for the currency early next year. Fabio Panetta, a member of the Executive Board of the ECB, recently stated that the bank is focusing its efforts on the digital euro.

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