The European Central Bank has chosen two groupings of network service providers to connect banks, payment providers and national central banks to its future digital euro platform: Nexi Payments paired with Deutsche Telekom Business Solutions, and Telefónica paired with Indra.
Two groupings selected
The procurement procedure began with a call for applications dated 27 August 2025. The contract between Nexi and Deutsche Telekom entered into force on 28 September 2026. The Telefónica-Indra contract is set to start in May 2027.
Each bank, payment provider or national central bank will choose between the two networks to connect to the platform, which does not yet exist and is being assembled step by step. The Nexi-Deutsche Telekom contract is built first to cover initial pilot connectivity needs, with public circulation to follow only if the project goes ahead. Both providers have committed to being ready for a possible real issuance of the digital euro by 2029.
Issuance still conditional
Real issuance remains conditional on the Governing Council validating the next phase of the project. The European Union regulation underpinning the digital euro still awaits final agreement, with a trilogue scheduled for 5 November. Nexi is due to present its nine-month results on Thursday 5 November, the same week as the trilogue.
Deutsche Telekom has validated transactions on the Injective blockchain since February 2025. The Banque de France has described the digital euro as a European response to stablecoins. Christine Lagarde’s early departure from the ECB is also part of the backdrop to the project’s progress.
In foreign exchange markets, the euro stood at $1.1208 against the dollar as of 2 November 2026 at 15:26 GMT. CFTC data from the week of 27 October 2026 showed speculators net short the euro at 143,894 contracts, up from 134,524 a week earlier.
Source: European Central Bank | Data: Swissquote · CFTC
