The European Central Bank (ECB) is continuing its work on the digital euro project – an initiative to introduce a central bank digital currency that would complement banknotes and coins as an additional means of payment, providing individuals and businesses across the euro area with a secure, fast and efficient way to pay in the digital age. Together with the Bank of Slovenia, NLB is joining the pilot project as the only commercial bank from the Slovenian market.
The aim of the pilot is to test the technical and operational readiness of the Eurosystem for the potential introduction of the digital euro, while also assessing the user experience. The project is expected to begin in the second half of next year and will run for 12 months. It will involve selected payment service providers (PSPs), with NLB among the 36 participants, as well as selected merchants and employees of Eurosystem central banks. During the pilot, participants will use a beta version of the digital euro that will closely resemble the digital euro envisaged under the current draft legislation in terms of functionality and technical features, but it will not have legal payment status.
During the test, Eurosystem employees will use the beta version of the digital euro in everyday situations, such as paying for small-value services or making person-to-person payments, ensuring realistic and diverse testing conditions. Participating PSPs will be able to take part in one of two roles: as distribution PSPs, providing Eurosystem employees with access to beta digital euro services, including opening a beta digital euro account and making payments; or as acquiring PSPs, working with selected merchants to enable them to accept payments in the beta digital euro. Some providers, including NLB, will perform both roles, acting as both a distribution and an acquiring PSP.
As a systemic bank and the backbone of the Slovenian banking system, NLB has a special responsibility not only towards the domestic banking sector, the economy and society, but also more broadly. It is essential that we actively participate in projects that will shape the future development and resilience of the broader financial ecosystem, and equally important that we understand the project well and identify its implications at an early stage. Only then can we provide the necessary insights and effectively support the project's next steps.
For clients, the digital euro would primarily represent an additional payment option rather than a replacement for existing means of payment. If introduced, it would be a digital form of central bank money, much like cash is today the physical form of the euro, but designed for use in a digital environment.
For most clients, the introduction of the digital euro would not require significant changes to their everyday banking. They would continue to use their bank accounts, payment cards, digital banking services, instant payments and cash as they do today. In practice, its main added value would likely be as an additional universally accepted payment option, offering a consistent payment experience across the euro area, whether customers are paying at home, in another euro area country, online or directly to another person.
The ECB's objective is to be ready for a possible first issuance of the digital euro in 2029, provided that the legislative framework for its introduction is adopted later this year.
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