The European Central Bank has begun recruiting e-commerce and mobile commerce merchants in the euro area for a 12-month digital euro pilot scheduled to begin in the second half of 2027. The pilot will test the technology, operational processes and user experience of a beta digital euro. The test currency will resemble the digital euro but will not have legal tender status. The ECB, 19 euro area national central banks and selected merchants will participate, with central bank staff testing online and offline person-to-person transfers, in-store payments, e-commerce purchases and mobile commerce payments. The ECB selected 36 banks and payment companies for the testing phase several weeks ago and plans to issue the digital euro as early as 2029, pending legislative approval and a separate decision by the ECB’s Governing Council.