Amazon tests digital Euro prototypes
Important takeaways
- The European Central Bank (ECB) has selected five firms to help test the upcoming digital euro.
- Each participating firm will create a prototype interface that will be used to process simulated transactions.
- Five companies are involved in the test: Amazon, CaixaBank, Worldline, European Payments Initiative and Nexi.
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The European Central Bank (EBC) has partnered with five companies, including Amazon, to test its digital euro.
Digital Euro Testing
Amazon is one of five companies testing a digital euro.
According to an ECB announcement on September 15, five companies will collaborate to develop prototype user interfaces related to the planned upcoming digital euro. The exercise will use simulated transactions to test whether the digital euro integrates effectively with these interfaces.
The most notable participant is Amazon, which will create an interface to handle e-commerce payments. It is unclear whether the company will produce a variant of its official storefront or create a completely new interface.
Today’s news does not indicate that Amazon plans to accept the digital euro should the ECB launch one.
Other companies involved in the project include the Spanish bank CaixaBank and the European payment processor Worldline. These companies will create interfaces for online and offline peer-to-peer payments respectively.
Finally, the European Payments Initiative (EPI) and payment technology firm Nexi will provide interfaces for point-of-sale transactions. EPI’s solution will focus on payer-initiated transactions, while Nexis will focus on payee-initiated transactions.
These five companies were selected from a group of 54 companies that responded to an early call for expressions of interest.
Despite the high reputation of each company, their work may have little long-term impact. “There are no plans to reuse the prototypes in the subsequent phases of the digital euro project,” the European Central Bank said in today’s announcement.
The results of the experiment will be published in 2023.
Recent reports suggest that a legal framework for the EU’s digital euro will also be delivered in 2023. Some estimates suggest that a digital euro could be launched in 2025.
Disclosure: At the time of writing, the author of this piece owned BTC, ETH and other cryptocurrencies.
