The ECB wants to prepare the digital euro for an economy where humans will no longer necessarily be at the origin of each payment. The institution is now looking for companies that can explore payments using AI agents, micropayments and machine-to-machine interactions. The first work will begin in 2027. The digital euro project has still not been officially launched.
In brief
- The ECB opens the digital euro to experiments with AI agents.
- Companies can apply until November 9, 2026.
- Tests and workshops will begin in the first half of 2027.
The digital euro prepares for AI agents
On September 28, the ECB opened a new call for applications aimed at fintechs, merchants, payment providers, technology companies, public institutions and research centers. This new stage completes the digital euro pilot already planned for 2027.
This time, artificial intelligence enters directly into the program. The ECB wants to explore several uses: AI-assisted payment experiences, AI agents, interactions between these agents and micropayments. It also plans to study the use of the digital euro in transport, payment of public services, smart cities and even the automation of certain public sector operations.
Applications are open until November 9, 2026 at 5 p.m. Central European Time. The work devoted to these uses will notably take the form of workshops organized at the ECB premises in Frankfurt during the first two quarters of 2027.
For AI agents, everything therefore remains experimental. The ECB is not yet promising a digital wallet capable of spending its owner’s money on its own. She wants to see what works.
Two different programs to test payments
The new program has two components. The first concerns experimentation. Between January and June 2027, selected companies will have to build prototypes using the infrastructure envisaged for the digital euro.
The list includes electronic receipts integrated into payment applications, transactions involving multiple payers or multiple payees, conditional payments and new functions directly accessible from the applications.
Participants will be required to produce a proof of concept as well as a final report. The second part is more prospective. This is where AI agents and micropayments are found. The ECB wants to bring together several sectors to imagine uses which do not necessarily correspond to traditional payments made today by card or banking application.
This new phase arrives when the project has already expanded considerably. In July, the ECB selected 36 providers to participate in the digital euro pilot. More than 50 companies submitted their applications.
This pilot will begin in the second half of 2027 and will last twelve months. The objective is different: to test a beta version of the digital euro in conditions close to daily use, in particular for payments between individuals or with merchants.
The ECB wants a currency ready for new uses
The choice of AI agents does not happen by chance. Artificial intelligence systems are becoming capable of performing tasks, using external services, and performing multiple steps without constant human intervention.
Payment could become one of these steps. For example, a machine could automatically trigger a small transaction when a specific condition is met. Micropayments then become particularly interesting, especially when the amounts are too small to justify the costs and procedures of traditional systems.
The ECB already imposes some limits on this reflection. The solutions presented must respect the principle of privacy protection by design, leave control to the user and remain compatible with European rules on personal data.
The subject is sensitive. The institution recently had to address concerns about surveillance with the digital euro. Importantly, the experiences of 2027 do not mean that the digital euro will automatically be launched. The ECB reminds that a final issuance decision can only be made after the adoption of the European legislative framework. For now, she is building. And she already predicts that machines could one day be among the users.
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