# ECB picks 36 payment firms, including Revolut and UniCredit, for digital euro pilot
> The European Central Bank selected 36 payment service providers to test a digital euro in a year-long pilot from 2027, including neobanks Revolut and Stripe alongside traditional lenders such as UniCredit, in the latest step toward an EU central-bank digital currency designed to reduce eurozone reliance on foreign payment networks

**Meta:** type: event · date: 2026-07-14 · heads: 誰の金か, 静かな変化 · 4 takes · 2 lenses · 4 regions

## Summary

The European Central Bank announced on July 14 the selection of 36 payment service providers to join a year-long digital euro pilot beginning in 2027. The list spans neobanks including Revolut and Stripe and established European lenders such as UniCredit. The ECB has been developing the digital euro since launching an investigation phase in 2021, and the pilot selection marks the latest formal step before the EU decides whether to proceed with a full digital currency launch. The core aim is to create a form of central-bank-issued digital money that complements cash and reduces the eurozone's dependence on payment networks controlled by Visa, Mastercard, and US-based technology companies.

## The split

The ECB framed the 36-firm selection as a procedural milestone in a preparation phase that does not yet commit the EU to launching the digital euro. Crypto and fintech coverage focused on the presence of Revolut and Stripe alongside traditional banks, reading it as a signal that the ECB is building a diverse pilot ecosystem rather than a bank-only network. Bloomberg reported the firm range, from Revolut to UniCredit, as evidence that the ECB is hedging between new-wave and old-guard payment providers.

## By the numbers

- 36, payment service providers selected for the pilot
- 2027, start year for the year-long pilot programme
- 2021, year the ECB formally launched its digital euro investigation phase

## Why it matters

A digital euro would create a payment layer under direct ECB oversight, independent of US-headquartered card networks. The eurozone currently processes most digital retail payments through Visa, Mastercard, or bank-to-bank transfers. A central bank digital currency adds EU data-sovereignty and sanctions-compliance capabilities that no commercial payment network provides. The 36-firm pilot is the first time companies have been contractually enrolled in the digital euro process, making it significantly harder to reverse.

## What to watch

- Progress of the Digital Euro Regulation in the European Parliament, which must pass before the ECB can issue.
- How pilot firms handle EU data-protection requirements for real-time transaction data.
- Whether the ECB sets a public timeline for a go/no-go decision on full digital euro issuance after the 2027-2028 pilot.

## Regional takes (batched by bias / lens)

### unlabelled
- **European Central Bank** (European Union, en) — The ECB's official press release confirming the selection of 36 payment service providers to join the digital euro pilot programme.
  Source: https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/pr/date/2026/html/ecb.pr260714~8cd07d9d45.en.html
- **BeInCrypto** (Global / crypto media, en) — 
  Source: https://beincrypto.com/ecb-digital-euro-pilot-stablecoins/
- **Bloomberg** (United States, en) — 
  Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-14/ecb-digital-euro-trial-enlists-firms-from-revolut-to-unicredit

### Pan-European broadcaster; reported the EU strategic rationale, framing the pilot as a milestone toward reducing reliance on foreign payment networks and describing the year-long 2027 timeline
- **Euronews** (Europe, en) — Euronews contextualised the 36-firm selection within the EU's broader push to create central-bank digital money and reduce eurozone dependence on foreign payment infrastructure. The piece described the 2027 start date for the year-long pilot and named the milestone as the latest in the multi-year digital euro preparation process.
  > "The ECB has selected 36 payment service providers to help test the digital euro in a year-long pilot from 2027, marking the latest milestone in the EU's effort to create a digital form of central bank money while reducing reliance on foreign payment networks."
  Source: https://www.euronews.com/business/2026/07/14/ecb-selects-36-payment-providers-for-digital-euro-pilot-as-the-project-moves-ahead

## Across the graph
- Entities: Org:ecb, Eurozone

---
Canonical: https://rbtfl.xyz/ja/n/ecb-digital-euro-pilot-jul14