The European Central Bank (ECB) has entered into agreements with ECPC, nexo standards, and the Berlin Group to leverage open technical standards for digital euro payment processing.

These agreements permit the ECB to capitalize on existing infrastructure instead of creating new proprietary systems. The selected standards address distinct but complementary payment scenarios: ECPC’s CPACE standard facilitates contactless near-field communication payments between devices and terminals; nexo standards enable seamless integration of merchants’ systems with payment service providers, covering a range of transactions including point-of-sale environments and cash-machine operations; and Berlin Group standards support alias-based payments alongside functionalities such as balance checks, reconciliation, and in-app merchant payments.

Addressing Europe’s Standards Gap

The rationale behind these agreements is partly structural. Currently, Europe lacks a universally available open standard for payment terminals that is supported across the board. The ECB aims to address this by adopting widely used European open standards, thereby reducing the costs of implementation and creating a consistent user experience throughout the euro area.

This approach has wider implications beyond just the digital euro. For instance, it could enable national card schemes to extend their reach into other markets without needing to upgrade point-of-sale (POS) terminals, overcoming historical barriers that have limited the geographic scope of smaller European payment systems.

The standards were chosen in collaboration with market participants represented in the Rulebook Development Group and are aligned with the ECB’s payments strategy. The ECB has indicated that additional standards may be adopted in the future, contingent on approval by its Governing Council.

Regulatory Milestone Still Pending

The full commercial impact of these agreements is subject to legislative progress. Benefits for market participants will only materialize before the digital euro’s issuance once EU co-legislators adopt the digital euro Regulation. The adoption of this regulation would confer legal tender status on the digital euro across the euro area, providing payment solution providers with a solid foundation for expanding their operations beyond national borders and offering the regulatory certainty necessary to support investment decisions.

The agreements mark an early-coordination phase designed to streamline technical implementation once the legislative milestone is reached. This will allow payment service providers, acquirers, and standardization bodies to align on specific details before formal issuance begins.