The European Central Bank has signed agreements with three European standards bodies to reuse existing open technical specifications for processing digital euro payments. According to reports from crypto.news, the partnership includes European Card Payment Cooperation (ECPC), nexo standards, and the Berlin Group. These organizations will align their frameworks so that payment providers can support digital euro transactions without expensive, bespoke upgrades to point-of-sale terminals and online systems. As reported by crypto.news, the partnership represents a major move to shape the future of payments in Europe, with the ECB building the digital euro on open European payment standards rather than proprietary ones controlled by global card networks. ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone emphasized that the open digital euro standards will provide a European free alternative to current proprietary standards, making it easier for new European providers to enter the market and give European payment service providers and merchants the certainty they need to invest, innovate and compete across the euro area.
The ECB argues that reusing open standards should minimize scheme and implementation costs at a time when banks face multibillion-euro IT bills to adapt to a potential central bank digital currency. As reported by crypto.news, earlier estimates cited by Reuters suggested a digital euro rollout could cost European banks between €4 billion and €6 billion over four years, or roughly 3% of their annual IT maintenance budgets. The projected cost of building the system through 2029 is approximately ₹1.3 billion euros, with annual operating costs estimated at around ₹320 million euros per year after launch. Industry-wide implementation costs for banks and payment service providers are estimated separately at ₹4-6 billion euros, according to figures cited by Catenaa and KPMG. Executive Board member Piero Cipollone emphasized that the open digital euro standards will provide a European free alternative to current proprietary standards, making it easier for new European providers to enter the market and giving European payment service providers and merchants the certainty they need to invest, innovate and compete across the euro area.
The standards in scope include ECPC's CPACE protocol for tap-to-pay near-field communication, nexo's ISO 20022-based acceptance specifications, and Berlin Group's open interfaces for account-to-account and card-based payments. According to crypto.news, by building the digital euro on top of these existing rails, the ECB wants to offer a European free alternative to current proprietary standards dominated by global card schemes and digital wallets. The three standards bodies divide responsibility across the payment chain: ECPC's CPACE standard handles the tap-to-pay layer at point of sale, using Near Field Communication (NFC) to connect a payment device to a terminal. nexo standards sit one step back, linking merchant-side systems to the payment service providers and acquirers that process transactions behind the scenes. The Berlin Group covers account access and interoperability: alias-based payments (where a mobile phone number substitutes for a full account number), balance checks, and reconciliation across mobile devices. CEO Ana Grade of ECPC called the deal a major step for her consortium's CPACE standard, stating it will further enhance the standard's visibility and market presence. Jean-Philippe Joliveau, Chairman of the Board of nexo, added that the cooperation confirms nexo's position as an international standardisation body supporting interoperability across the payments ecosystem.
The agreements come as EU lawmakers work to finalize the digital euro regulation, which is expected to be adopted in 2026 and unlock full-scale investments by payment firms. As reported by crypto.news, the ECB has said it plans to publish the complete technical standards by this summer, with a 12-month pilot focused on person-to-person and point-of-sale payments scheduled from the second half of 2027. The most important line in the announcement focuses on "free access, cost minimisation and coordination" - the key strategy to compete with Visa & Mastercard in the European payments market. The digital euro has been in a formal preparation phase since November 2023, with the phase closing in October 2025 after the ECB received more than 2,000 comments on its draft rulebook from market participants. The Governing Council subsequently approved moving into a technical capacity-building phase ahead of a potential issuance decision. Recruitment of payment service providers for a pilot program closes in May 2026, with participant notifications in June. Full issuance, if it happens, is currently projected for 2029, with officials framing the digital euro as a way to strengthen Europe's monetary sovereignty and reduce reliance on non-European payment giants such as Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal.
