ECB picks Nexi and Deutsche Telekom, Telefónica and Minsait to build the digital euro network
Two European consortia will provide the connectivity that links banks, payment providers and central banks to the digital euro platform, starting with the 2027 pilot.
The European Central Bank has selected two network service providers for the digital euro. It signed service agreements with a temporary grouping of Nexi Payments and Deutsche Telekom Business Solutions, and with a second grouping of Telefónica de España, Telefónica Global Solutions and Indra Soluciones Tecnologías de la Información, the company behind Indra Group's Minsait. The ECB published the outcome on 30 October 2026.
The providers will connect participating payment service providers and national central banks to the digital euro service platform and handle communication between its components. The Nexi and Deutsche Telekom contract entered into force on 28 September 2026 and will initially cover the pilot. The Telefónica and Minsait contract starts in May 2027 and runs for 10 years, according to Telefónica.
What the ECB decided
The selection closes a procurement that the ECB opened with a call for applications on 27 August 2025, followed by an invitation to tender. The central bank says both providers will be ready from 2029 to deliver the connectivity needed for a potential issuance of a digital euro, subject to a decision by its Governing Council on the next phase of the project.
Every payment service provider that offers the digital euro will be able to connect through either of the two networks. The ECB also says the agreements are designed to give it flexibility to adjust the services it orders as needs change during the pilot and any later phases.
heise reports that the ECB chose two providers on purpose, to make the system more resilient and to avoid depending on a single supplier. The networks will link the data centres of the Digital Euro Service Platform with banks, payment providers and national central banks.
Who does what
Telefónica says it will supply the communications infrastructure and operate it through Telefónica Global Solutions and Telefónica Tech. That includes an MPLS network, a private network that securely connects different sites, SD-WAN for multi-site connectivity, and cybersecurity services.
Minsait will provide the platforms that let applications, systems and participants connect securely through APIs. Through IndraMind Cybersecurity, Indra Group's cybersecurity unit, it will also provide digital identity, certificates and trust services, backed by a security operations centre that detects and responds to threats and controls who can access the platform.
"The digital euro is one of the most transformative technology and financial projects currently being undertaken in Europe," said Luis Fernández, chief executive of Minsait, in the Telefónica release. Borja Ochoa, chairman of Telefónica España, said the project is "a major step forward in our strategy to contribute to a more digital, secure and sovereign Europe".
The contract value
Spanish tech outlet Xataka, citing the tender documents, reports an estimated value of €81.42 million excluding VAT for the lot won by Telefónica and Minsait, with a contractual maximum of €177.66 million. Those figures are ceilings and estimates, not guaranteed revenue, and the split between the two companies has not been disclosed. The award is also published as a public procurement notice on the EU's Tenders Electronic Daily.
Where the digital euro stands
The network contracts are one more building block. According to heise, the ECB signed framework agreements in October 2025 for five other components, including offline payments and fraud protection. A pilot is planned from 2027, and the ECB is aiming for a possible first issuance in 2029. The legal basis is not yet in place: the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission have been negotiating the digital euro legislation since July, heise reports.
Xataka reports that the pilot is planned for the second half of 2027 and should run for 12 months, with 36 payment service providers, merchants and staff of the ECB and the national central banks taking part. The ECB has argued that about two-thirds of card payments in the euro area rely on international card networks and that 13 euro-area countries have no national card scheme of their own. Some banks have pushed back because of the cost of building for the digital euro, Xataka notes.
What it means for European founders and investors
For fintech founders, the decision makes the digital euro more concrete. Payment service providers will have to connect through one of two named networks, and the ECB has now fixed the timeline for the pilot and for possible issuance. Startups building wallets, merchant acceptance, compliance or fraud tools can start mapping where they would plug in, while keeping in mind that the final legislation is still open.
It is also a sign of how the ECB is approaching critical infrastructure. Both winning groups are European, and both pair a telecoms operator with a payments or IT company. That fits the wider European debate about relying less on non-European payment networks, a debate that matters for payment companies such as Adyen and for neobanks expanding across borders, like Monzo in Spain. For the ECB's broader agenda, see our report on its latest rate decision.
For investors, the contracts are modest next to the companies' overall size, but they place Nexi, Deutsche Telekom, Telefónica and Indra at the centre of a project the ECB treats as strategic. The next milestones to watch are progress on the legislation in Brussels and the start of the pilot in 2027.
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