Sipay will participate as an acquiring PSP, on the merchant side, through its Banco de España-licensed payment institution.
Alcobendas (Madrid), 14 July 2026. Sipay has been selected to take part in the digital euro pilot led by the Eurosystem, as one of the 36 payment service providers (PSPs) chosen from across the euro area. The pilot, due to start in the second half of 2027 and to run for 12 months, will test the digital euro’s technical functionality and operational processes and help refine the user experience. Sipay participates as an acquiring PSP: the provider that operates on the merchant side, enabling merchants to receive payments. The formally selected entity is Uinku Payments Entidad de Pago SLU, a Sipay subsidiary licensed by Banco de España.
The pilot will use a beta version of the digital euro. It will be functionally and technically close to the digital euro foreseen in the draft legislation but will not have legal tender status, issued solely for testing purposes. All transactions will be carried out in controlled and real-life environments. Within this scope, Sipay will work on payment acceptance: how merchants could receive digital euro payments and integrate them into their existing in-store and online flows.
Participants were selected through an objective process based on their technical and operational capabilities. Participation does not constitute an endorsement by the Eurosystem, nor does it affect supervisory oversight.
The digital euro is the Eurosystem’s proposal for a central bank-issued digital means of payment, complementing cash and usable across the euro area. The project is in its preparation phase; any issuance will depend on a decision by the Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB), once the European legislation currently under discussion has been adopted. The pilot will take place at the ECB and 19 national central banks, including Banco de España.
“The pilot lets us work, alongside the Eurosystem and the other selected participants, on how merchants could accept the digital euro. It is technical, collaborative work, and that is how we approach it. Our aim is to contribute, from the merchant side, to a secure, efficient and inclusive digital euro that meets the needs of merchants and users,” said José Luis Nevado, CEO of Sipay.
About Sipay
Sipay is a Spanish full-stack, omnichannel payments fintech with over 30 years of experience, headquartered in Alcobendas (Madrid). It integrates gateway, acquiring, processing and orchestration on a single platform. It processes over €12 billion and more than 350 million transactions a year for over 1,000 clients in more than 40 countries. It holds a payment institution licence from Banco de España and is certified under PCI DSS 4.0, ISO 27001 and ENS.
