The European Central Bank (ECB) said it established an innovation center with 70 participants to test its digital euro project.
Participants included new companies, banks and payment services, including the Global Professional Services Company, Accenture, the Swisscom Swiss Company Company, the Spanish Bank Caixabank and the Audit and Tax Firm KPMG, said in a Monday launch. Companies have registered to work with the ECB to explore the payment functionalities and the cases of use of the digital currency of the Central Bank, according to the statement.
The ECB issued a call to small and large merchants, banks and payment service providers last year. The president of the Central Bank, Christine Lagarde, said that the CBDC test phase, which calls her preparation phase, should end in October. A decision is expected to occur on whether a digital euro is expected to occur after the legislation enters into force.
Read more: The ECB is heading to October to finish the digital euro preparation phase
