The European Central Bank signed agreements on April 24, 2026, with the European Card Payment Cooperation, nexo standards, and the Berlin Group to define technical standards for processing digital euro payments. The standards cover contactless tap-to-pay via near-field communication, merchant-to-payment service provider system connectivity, and alias-based payment initiation.
ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone said the approach provides a European alternative to current proprietary standards. Reusing open standards minimizes adoption costs and encourages early coordination among payment service providers, the ECB stated.
The ECB noted that adoption of the digital euro Regulation by EU co-legislators would provide market actors with certainty for future investments.