Which banks will offer the digital euro?

Ultimately, effectively all of them. Once the digital euro launches, credit institutions will be obliged to offer basic digital euro services to customers on request. So the realistic answer to "which bank" is: the one you already use.

Here's how distribution works, and why the 36 banks in today's headlines are a smaller, different list.

You'll get it from a supervised provider — probably your own bank#

The digital euro is issued by the Eurosystem, but it's distributed only through supervised payment service providers: banks, payment institutions and e-money institutions. The central bank makes the money; your provider gives you access to it.

And for credit institutions this isn't optional. Once launched, they'll be obliged to offer basic digital euro services on request, with those basic services free for individuals. That obligation is what makes "which banks" almost a non-question at launch — availability is the point.

The 36 pilot PSPs are testers, not the launch list#

The banks in recent coverage — 36 PSPs, selected on 14 July 2026 from 57 applications across 19 countries including Croatia — are not "the banks that will offer the digital euro." They're the ones building and testing it during the pilot.

They were picked for a spread of business models, size and geography, and they include both banks and non-bank providers. Their job is to prove the technology and operations before launch — not to be the exclusive providers afterward.

So being on (or off) that list tells you who's testing, not where you'll eventually get your digital euro.

Two roles, depending on who you are#

Distribution splits by customer type, which is worth knowing if you're a business rather than an individual:

• A distributing PSP serves individual users — accounts, aliases, the app you'd actually use.
• An acquiring PSP serves business users — the acceptance side, so merchants can take digital euro payments.

Most people will deal with a distributing PSP. If you run a business, your acceptance would come through an acquiring PSP, much like card acquiring today.

When can you actually pick one?#

Not yet. The pilot (staff-only) runs in the second half of 2027, and a public launch is targeted around 2029, dependent on EU legislation. Until then there's no provider to choose — see when the digital euro is coming out.

The bottom line#

• At launch, credit institutions must offer basic digital euro services — so you'll most likely get it from your existing bank.
• The 36 pilot PSPs are testers, not the definitive list of who'll offer it.
• Individuals go through a distributing PSP; businesses through an acquiring PSP.

For how a bank actually delivers this, see what banks must do.