The European Central Bank is establishing an innovation center to test the digital euro, and the preparation phase is coming to an end

According to CoinDesk, the European Central Bank has announced the establishment of a Digital Euro Innovation Center, attracting 70 institutions including Accenture, Swiss Telecom, and Spanish bank Kexa to participate in testing. These participants from the fields of financial technology, telecommunications, and professional services will jointly explore the payment functions and application scenarios of central bank digital currency (CBDC), and the testing phase is expected to continue until October. European Central Bank President Lagarde emphasized that the results of the current "preparatory stage" will provide key basis for the formal issuance decision after the legislation is passed. This cooperation focuses on merchant applications, aiming to verify the feasibility of digital euros in daily payments. Participating institutions will receive technical specification support and conduct specialized testing for complex scenarios such as cross-border settlement.