The European Central Bank (ECB) has selected five companies to be involved in a “prototyping exercise” that will be part of its two-year investigation phase into a digital euro, a central bank digital currency (CBDC) that could be used as an alternative to cash.
The companies are Amazon, Nexi, Worldline, CaixaBank and the European Payments Initiative (EPI), according to a Friday (Sept. 16) press release. The companies were selected from a pool of 54 potential developers that responded to an ECB call for participants in the exercise.
The goal of the exercise is to test how well the technology behind a digital euro integrates with prototypes created by participant companies, the release stated. Each company will turn its attention to specific use cases of the digital euro.
“Simulated transactions will be initiated using the front-end prototypes developed by the five companies and processed through the Eurosystem’s interface and back-end infrastructure,” according to the release.
Amazon will develop eCommerce payment prototypes; Nexi will test point-of-sale (POS) payments initiated by the payee; Worldline will develop peer-to-peer (P2P) offline payment prototypes; CaixaBank will focus on P2P online payments; and the EPI will test POS payments initiated by the payer.
The initiative is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2023 when the ECB will also publish its findings. The digital euro project investigation phase began in October 2021 and is expected to be complete in 2023.
There are many uncertainties at play regarding the planned digital euro, and the ECB is in no rush to launch a CBDC before it is ready.
Read more: How the Digital Euro Can Help Address Disintermediation, Sovereignty Issues
Nexi Group Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer Roberto Catanzaro said in a statement: “We look forward to bringing the best of Nexi’s recognized know-how in the digital payments in general and in merchant solutions in the specific scope, to drive innovation in the European payment landscape.”
Worldline released a statement in which it said that it shares a “common goal of the ECB and its partners and intends to be an active participant of payment industry evolution by contributing to strategic and potentially transformative projects such as the digital euro.”
CaixaBank said in a statement that it “will be developing a mobile application that simulates the steps individuals will need to transfer digital euros to their account and/or transfer digital euros to other individuals.”
Amazon and the EPI had not released any official statements on their involvement in the digital euro project Friday afternoon.
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