Croatia will participate in the testing of the digital euro. The European Central Bank has selected 36 service providers for the trial activities, including two from Croatia: Corvus Pay and Raiffeisenbank, the Croatian National Bank (Hrvatska narodna banka) announced.
The trial activities are set to begin in the second half of 2027 and will last for 12 months. The aim is to verify the technical functionality of the digital euro and the operational processes, as well as to improve the user experience, in support of preparations for its potential launch.
Following a call for expressions of interest published in March 2026, the Eurosystem received more than 50 applications from payment service providers. Banks and non-bank providers of various sizes and business models were selected, which, according to the ECB, ensures a diverse and representative testing environment.
The trials will use a beta version of the digital euro. This will be functionally and technically similar to the future currency, but will not have the status of legal tender.
The activities will be conducted at the ECB and 19 national central banks of the euro area, including Croatia. In addition to staff from the central banks, the trials will involve traders operating in e-commerce and those offering daily services in their premises, such as canteens and restaurants.
