The Berlin Group, a pan-European standardisation initiative for Open Banking and Open Finance API standards, has confirmed that the European Central Bank (ECB) has joined as a non-voting observer participant.
The agreement was signed by SRC Security Research and Consulting, acting as the Berlin Group Secretariat and Editorial Lead, and the ECB, and has been backed by a Letter of Endorsement from nine Berlin Group Plenary participants.
As an observer participant, the ECB will engage in the Berlin Group's standards development process and will be able to submit change requests to Berlin Group standards. SRC, as Secretariat, will facilitate the handling of those requests, including technical review and reporting, to ensure the standards can support evolving digital euro requirements. Change requests will be handled on a best-efforts basis with agreed priority and timeframes.
Digital euro alignment and market implications
The ECB's participation is consistent with a strong recommendation in the draft digital euro regulation to leverage open European standards that foster interoperability. The Berlin Group's standards integrate requirements from banks, regulated third-party providers, fintechs, associations, payment schemes, and interbank processors to define common, interoperable API frameworks. Berlin Group standards are scheme-agnostic, and their adoption is market-driven.
The ECB's involvement signals a move to align the digital euro's technical foundation with existing private sector Open Banking standards, rather than developing a separate proprietary framework. The stated objective is to create an open digital euro standard that serves as a free European alternative to current proprietary standards, reducing barriers to entry for new European payment providers and giving payment service providers and merchants certainty for investment and innovation across the euro area.
Commenting on the news, Piero Cipollone, ECB Executive Board member and chair of the High-Level Task Force on a digital euro, noted that the partnership reflects a commitment to ensuring the digital euro works with existing European standards that the private sector can also use. Markus Schierack, Managing Director of SRC, added that the ECB's participation is a positive step for the broader European payments ecosystem built on open, interoperable standards.
