ECB's other decisions: digital euro calls, Pontes launch, framework

Serguey Asael Shinder02 October 2026, 17:482 min read

The European Central Bank published on 2 October its regular summary of decisions taken by the Governing Council beyond setting interest rates. Several concern the digital euro and tokenised settlement.

On the digital euro, the summary recalls a call issued on 15 September for e-commerce and mobile commerce merchants in the euro area to take part in the pilot, with applications due by 27 October 2026, and a second call on 28 September for private companies and organisations to explore how the digital euro infrastructure could support their innovation work, closing on 9 November. In July the ECB had set out accessibility features of the digital euro app that go beyond the European Accessibility Act, with usability and accessibility testing to start as part of the pilot in 2027.

On 11 August the Governing Council approved an agreement governing the initial launch of Pontes, the service that settles wholesale transactions in tokenised assets in central bank money. The agreement sets a binding legal framework for a production-grade system while reflecting the interim nature of the phase, and includes terms for market participants and operators of distributed ledgers. The Market Infrastructure Board recommended keeping the launch date of 21 September 2026.

On 22 September the Council adopted amendments to the legal acts implementing the Eurosystem monetary policy framework, including the guideline on valuation haircuts, to apply from 30 November 2026. On 7 September it approved the response of the European System of Central Banks to the European Commission's targeted consultation on reviewing the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation. The summary also notes that almost ten million people, 2.6% of the euro area population, completed the survey on the future design of euro banknotes.

Why it matters

None of this moves rates, but it shows where the ECB's institutional work is going: a retail digital euro moving into pilots with merchants, wholesale tokenised settlement already live through Pontes, and a say in how the EU's crypto rules are revised. The 30 November date is the one for banks to note, as collateral haircuts change then.