RS2 Financial Services GmbH, an electronic money institution supervised by BaFin and part of the RS2 Group, operating under its innovation brand Beyond by RS2, has been selected to participate as an acquiring payment service provider in the Eurosystem’s digital euro pilot.

Participating in the pilot gives RS2 Financial Services the opportunity to contribute its acquiring expertise and help evaluate the experience from the perspective of merchants and payment users.The pilot marks the transition from technical preparation to practical validation, testing how a potential digital euro could function in everyday consumer and merchant payment scenarios.

According to the official announcement of the European Central Bank, RS2 Financial Services GmbH is one of 36 payment service providers selected to participate in the programme. The participating organisations reflect a range of institution sizes, business models and markets across the euro area.

RS2 Financial Services GmbH will contribute its expertise in acquiring and merchant payments to the pilot, leveraging the RS2 Group’s cloud-native payment technology and technical capabilities to support pilot execution.

The Eurosystem plans to test a beta digital euro in controlled and real-life environments, including payments between individuals and payments made in shops. The beta digital euro will not have legal tender status, and all transactions conducted during the programme will be solely for testing purposes.

The pilot is intended to assess the technical, operational and user readiness of the digital euro framework, while providing participating payment service providers with practical experience of how the system could function in everyday commerce.

Ulrike Schaeffter, Co-CEO, RS2 Financial Services GmbH, and RS2 Group Chief Product Officer, said:

“New payment systems can only earn the confidence of consumers and merchants when they work effectively in real-life situations. Practical testing is therefore an essential part of understanding how a possible digital euro could operate at the point of payment.

“Participating in the pilot gives RS2 Financial Services GmbH the opportunity to contribute its acquiring expertise, learn alongside other payment service providers and help evaluate the experience from the perspective of merchants and payment users.”

The pilot is planned to begin during H2 of 2027 and run for 12 months. Participants will include payment service providers, merchants and Eurosystem staff, creating a range of realistic testing environments and use cases.

The results will contribute to the Eurosystem’s continuing preparatory work and help refine the functional design, technical performance and user experience of a possible future digital euro.

The ECB has stated that it aims to be ready for a potential issuance during 2029, subject to the relevant European Union Regulation being adopted. Any decision to issue a digital euro would only be taken after the required legislative framework is in place.

Participation in the pilot does not constitute an endorsement of any individual payment service provider and does not affect existing supervisory oversight.