Third Progress Report on the Digital Euro Preparation Phase

16 July 2025

The European Central Bank (ECB) has today published its third progress report on the digital euro preparation phase, which summarizes the progress made in recent months in defining the technical aspects and regulatory framework for modernizing the single currency.

The report covers developments between November 2024 and April 2025. The current preparation phase began on 1 November 2023 and is scheduled to conclude at the end of October 2025.

The digital euro project is being led by the Eurosystem, which comprises the ECB and the national central banks of the euro area.

A key area of focus has been the development of the digital euro rulebook to harmonize digital euro payments across the euro area.

In parallel, user trials and research have been conducted to ensure that the digital euro meets the needs of end users.

Furthermore, through the recently launched innovation platform, around 70 market participants have conducted technical tests on features such as conditional payments, exploring potential solutions and use cases for integrating the digital euro into the financial ecosystem.

At the same time, the ECB has engaged directly with small merchants, vulnerable consumers, and underrepresented groups through focus groups, interviews, and partnerships with consumer associations. The primary objective of this research is to understand the needs, preferences, and challenges of different user groups to ensure that the digital euro is designed to be as inclusive and accessible as possible. The results will be published in the third quarter of 2025.

The digital euro project aims to modernize central bank money, adapting it to increasingly digital payment preferences and trends. It is a collaborative effort involving the ECB, national central banks, market participants, consumer representatives, and policymakers. The goal is to strengthen Europe's strategic autonomy by providing a public payment instrument that can be used throughout the euro area - for online shopping, in-store purchases, and even peer-to-peer transfers.

If issued, the digital euro would complement cash and uphold the highest standards of security, quality, usability, and privacy.

Progress on the preparation phase of a digital euro - Third progress report