European Central Bank Sets Up Innovation Hub to Test CBDC as Preparation Phase Nears End
05/06/2025 22:18
The hub has 70 participants including Accenture, KPMG and CaixaBank.
ECB Establishes Innovation Hub to Test Digital Euro as Preparation Phase Nears End
The hub has 70 participants including Accenture, KPMG and CaixaBank.
May 6, 2025, 2:51 p.m.
The European Central Bank (ECB) said it set up an innovation hub with 70 participants to test its digital euro project.
The participants included start-ups, banks and payment services including global professional services company Accenture, Swiss telecommunications company Swisscom, Spanish bank CaixaBank and audit and tax firm KPMG, it said in a Monday release. The companies have signed up to work with the ECB to explore the central bank digital currency's payment functionalities and use cases, the release said.
The ECB issued a call to small and large merchants, banks and payment-service providers last year. The central bank's President Christine Lagarde said that the testing phase of the CBDC, which it calls its preparation phase, should end by October. A decision on whether or not to issue a digital euro is expected to occur after legislation takes effect.
Read more: ECB Targets October to Finish Digital Euro Preparation Phase
Camomile Shumba
Camomile Shumba is a CoinDesk regulatory reporter based in the UK. Previously, Shumba interned at Business Insider and Bloomberg. Camomile has featured in Harpers Bazaar, Red, the BBC, Black Ballad, Journalism.co.uk, Cryptopolitan.com and South West Londoner.
Shumba studied politics, philosophy and economics as a combined degree at the University of East Anglia before doing a postgraduate degree in multimedia journalism. While she did her undergraduate degree she had an award-winning radio show on making a difference. She does not currently hold value in any digital currencies or projects.
