The European Central Bank (ECB) has recently announced the establishment of an innovation hub comprising 70 participants to delve into its digital euro project. This initiative marks a significant step toward exploring central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) in Europe.
Among the participants are a diverse array of start-ups, banks, and payment service providers, including notable names such as Accenture, Swisscom, CaixaBank, and KPMG. These organizations have committed to collaborating with the ECB to investigate the potential functionalities and use cases of the digital euro as a central bank digital currency.
This initiative follows the ECB’s appeal to both small and large merchants, banks, and payment-service providers, which was issued last year. ECB President Christine Lagarde highlighted that this testing phase, referred to as the preparation phase for the CBDC, is expected to conclude by October. After the completion of this phase, a decision regarding the issuance of a digital euro will be made, contingent on forthcoming legislation.
Read more: ECB Targets October to Finish Digital Euro Preparation Phase
