The completion date of the preparation phase for digital euro emissions is approaching. In the third report presenting the progress of work there are some interesting details regarding offline payment functions. Blackout may prove to be a scenario in which the e-euro will shine against the background of competitors.
At the “ambitious pace”, conceptual work is underway on the European version of the digital money of the Central Bank (CBDC). On November 1, 2023, a stage of preparation for the e-euro emission began, which was scheduled for 2 years. Already at any time, analyzes and tests should end, and the head of ECB has repeatedly emphasized that she wants to make at least a decision at the level of the bank management board regarding the next steps until the end of October.
In mid -July 2025, another report on progress in preparations was published. The previous document saw the light of day in February 2025, and in Bankier.pl we presented one of the threads – work on the so -called Rulebook of a digital euro, i.e. a set of rules governing the payment scheme. What was working on in the meantime?
Visionaries and pioneers, market examination
The report describes several different areas of work more or less generally. One of them is the creation of an “innovation platform”, where about 70 selected volunteer entities (fintechs, banks, payment service providers) were to deal with the analysis of selected problems.
The first group, called “pioneers”, tested possible forms of implementation conditional payments. An example of such a transaction scenario is to make a settlement provided that the goods are effective and confirmed. The option of conditional payments is provided for in its CBDC, among others Israeli bank.
The second group, under the banner of “visionaries”, focused on “conceptual development, brainstorming creative ideas and cases of use to imagine how digital euros can fit into the financial ecosystem.” We meet the effects of meetings in the second half of 2025.
EBC also boasts of conducting a series of focus tests in each of the euro area countries. Small accepts and consumers were taken under the magnifying glass, and the main goal of the inquiries was to get to know factors that may lead to change payment preferences. Also in this case, the results will be published in the second half of the year.
Other activities include consultations with consumer organizations regarding the availability of payment instruments in the context of the needs of minorities and people with disabilities, as well as conceptual work on E-euro application. We would like to remind you that the digital euro is to be available either through payment service providers (i.e. intermediaries, e.g. in the mobile bank) or by the application created jointly by central banks of the euro area.
Offline payments – “significant progress”
In the latest report, only a few paragraphs were devoted to offline payments, i.e. transactions that do not require a connection to the network supporting the digital euro. This function of the European CBDC is becoming more and more important over time – it would not only strengthen the system's resistance to interference (which is not a purely theoretical scenario), but also could be an advantage over global products (read: American) payment organizations. The importance of offline payments may be evidenced by the fact that In tenders for the needs of the project, more than half of the budget (EUR 1.1 billion) was allocated to building the technical foundations of such a solution.
EBC boasts that significant progress has been achieved in analyzes of offline payments. One of the aforementioned functions is Automatic offline power supply. Until now, about the so -called mechanism Waterfall (we describe it more widely here), i.e. recharging the CBDC portfolio from a combined account, e.g. banking, was mentioned in E-Euro documents in the context of online payment. Now there is talk of such an “na reserve” option so that the user does not have to worry about access to e-Punishing when there is already breaks in the supply of energy or communication. However, this is not all, the top -up is also to be possible after the emergency.
“EBC analyzes resistance funds that should include the functionality of the digital euro offline to maintain the operation of the payment network, Starting by examining the feasibility of enabling users to top up offline wallets in extraordinary conditions. This is associated with finding a way to transfer funds into an offline portfolio outside the usual payment infrastructure, if this infrastructure becomes inaccessible. The results of these actions will help in making informed decisions about whether to include these functions in the final offline solution in cooperation with suppliers, “it was indicated in the report.
What next?
The report indicates that the ECB is completing the procedure for selecting possible suppliers of platform and technical infrastructure for a digital euro. By the end of 2025, framework contracts will be signed specifying the scope and conditions of “potential future work”. It was emphasized that the contract does not mean any financial obligations on the part of the Eurosystem “at this stage”.
In the second half of the year, you should expect to present another version of the preliminary book of standards (Rulebook) of the digital euro. The deadline was set less specifically than in the previous report, where the 3rd quarter of 2025 was mentioned. However, there was a reservation that “the sketch of the Book of Standards would be flexible, to take into account any future corrections resulting from the legislators' contribution to future legal acts.”
