ECB Seeks E-Commerce and Mobile Commerce Merchants for Digital Euro Pilot

The European Central Bank is recruiting e-commerce and mobile commerce merchants to take part in a digital euro pilot. According to Odaily, the pilot is scheduled to begin in the second half of 2027 and will run for 12 months. The trial will use a test currency similar to a digital euro but without legal tender status to test online and offline payments ahead of a possible digital euro issuance in 2029. The ECB said it wants to expand merchant acceptance and lower payment fees as use of Europe-dollar stablecoins grows.