ECB signs digital euro standards deals with ECPC, nexo and Berlin Group

The European Central Bank signed agreements on 24 April 2026 with ECPC, nexo standards and the Berlin Group to adopt their open technical standards for processing digital euro online payments. The three organisations collectively cover contactless card payments, terminal-to-acquirer interoperability and open-banking API frameworks.

The ECB said the move is designed to cut adoption costs for the market and reduce Europe's current reliance on proprietary standards controlled by international card schemes and global digital wallet operators. The Berlin Group's frameworks have already been implemented by roughly 80% of the European market.

ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone, who chairs the High-Level Task Force on a digital euro, said the open standards would give payment service providers and merchants "the certainty they need to invest, innovate and compete across the euro area."

The ECB noted that the full benefits will depend on EU co-legislators adopting the digital euro Regulation, which would confer legal tender status across the euro area. The standards were selected together with market participants in the Rulebook Development Group, and additional standards could be approved by the ECB Governing Council in future.