What happened
On 30 October 2026 the ECB announced the two network service providers (NSPs) for the digital euro. First-ranked: Nexi Payments with Deutsche Telekom Business Solutions, whose contract took effect on 28 September 2026 and initially covers the pilot. Second-ranked: Telefónica with Indra, starting in May 2027. Both would connect payment providers and central banks to the digital euro platform.
The decision at a glance
| Item | First-ranked grouping | Second-ranked grouping |
|---|---|---|
| Members | Nexi Payments S.p.A. and Deutsche Telekom Business Solutions GmbH | Telefónica de España, S.A.U., Telefónica Global Solutions, S.L.U. and Indra Soluciones Tecnologías de la Información, S.L.U. |
| Legal form | Temporary grouping | Temporary grouping |
| Contract in force | 28 September 2026 | From May 2027 |
| Initial scope | Connectivity for the digital euro pilot | Not specified beyond NSP services |
| Ready for potential issuance | From 2029, subject to the Governing Council's decision on the next phase | Same |
Source for every row: ECB news, 30 October 2026. The procurement began with a call for applications on 27 August 2025, followed by an invitation to tender. The ECB has signed service agreements with both groupings, and the agreements let it adjust the services it asks for as the pilot and any later phases evolve.
The ECB announcement does not state the number of bidders, the contract value or the contract length. Company-side reporting, for example Nexi's statement as relayed by the Italian agency Teleborsa, describes a ten-year agreement; the ECB text does not confirm that term, so we treat it as the companies' account.
What does a network service provider actually do?
In the ECB's description, the NSPs provide the connectivity that links participating payment service providers (PSPs) and national central banks to the digital euro service platform, and they enable communication between the platform's components. Every PSP offering the digital euro will be able to connect through either provider.
Put simply, an NSP is the secure private network between institutions. It is not the shop terminal, not the consumer app and not the platform that settles payments. A simplified picture of one online payment:
- A customer pays with the app of their bank or other PSP.
- The PSP sends the transaction over an NSP's network to the digital euro service platform run by the Eurosystem.
- The platform settles it, and the result travels back over the network to the payer's PSP and the merchant's acquiring PSP.
- The merchant sees a confirmed payment from its acquirer, in the same way it sees card or account payments today.
This is our simplification of the roles named by the ECB, not an official architecture diagram.
Two providers is an established Eurosystem pattern
The Eurosystem already connects banks to its TARGET Services (including the TIPS instant payment service) through a single gateway, ESMIG, served by two licensed NSPs. In 2019 the ECB announced that SIA-Colt and SWIFT had won the ESMIG concession (ECB news, 17 May 2019); the Bundesbank's current connectivity pages name the providers as Nexi-Colt and SWIFT (Deutsche Bundesbank). Choosing two network providers for the digital euro follows the same logic: participants get a choice, and the system does not depend on one supplier. The ECB's 30 October announcement does not itself explain its reasons, so this comparison is our interpretation.
Why it matters
- Infrastructure is being built ahead of the law. The pilot needs working connections in 2027, so the ECB has contracted network capacity now. Building before adoption does not decide issuance; the ECB attaches 2029 readiness to a future Governing Council decision. See our digital euro timeline.
- For PSPs, connectivity is now a known quantity. The 36 PSPs selected for the digital euro pilot know which networks they can use. Nexi Payments appears both in the first-ranked NSP grouping and on the ECB's list of selected pilot PSPs; the ECB announcement does not comment on this.
- European suppliers won. All four companies are headquartered in EU member states (Italy, Germany and Spain), which fits the strategic-autonomy argument the ECB makes for the project. The ECB announcement does not frame the award that way; that is our observation.
What it changes for businesses
For merchants and small businesses: nothing operational today. You will never contract an NSP; your acquirer or bank does that. The questions that matter to a business, acceptance costs, holding limits and timing, are covered on the digital euro for businesses and depend on the regulation still being negotiated.
For payment and software firms, the practical consequence is planning: an integration route to the platform now has named carriers and a dated start for the pilot connection.
What it does not mean
- Nexi, Deutsche Telekom, Telefónica and Indra are not digital euro wallet providers. End users will get the digital euro through their banks and PSPs.
- It is not a launch or an issuance decision. The regulation is still in trilogue negotiations, and 2029 readiness remains subject to a Governing Council decision. Our legislation tracker records each step.
- The network does not create offline payments. At least one press report linked the network contract to payments without internet access. In the ECB's pilot design, offline payments move between two devices over NFC and do not use the online platform at the moment of payment.
- It is not a contract to process payments. Settlement takes place on the Eurosystem's own platform; NSPs carry the messages.
Corrections to other coverage
Most reports of the 30 October announcement were accurate. Two points from our news monitoring are worth flagging:
| Claim seen in coverage | What the ECB announcement says |
|---|---|
| A trade-news item dated 2 November 2026 named "SIA S.p.A." as first-ranked and Nexi as second-ranked, starting May 2027 | Nexi Payments with Deutsche Telekom Business Solutions is first-ranked; the Telefónica and Indra grouping starts in May 2027 |
| "Ten-year contract" reported as fact | The ECB text gives no contract length; the figure comes from company statements |
What happens next
| Date | Milestone | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 28 September 2026 | First-ranked contract in force; pilot connectivity | ECB news |
| By early 2027 | Outcome of the ECB merchant selection | ECB pilot page |
| May 2027 | Second-ranked contract starts | ECB news |
| Second half of 2027 | 12-month pilot planned to start | ECB pilot page |
| From 2029 | Both NSPs ready for a potential issuance, if the Governing Council decides | ECB news |
Meanwhile, the payments that reach your account today are still SEPA transfers and cards. If matching them to invoices is still manual work, our reconciliation software and its free in-browser demo work with today's bank data; neither is connected to the digital euro.
Frequently asked questions
Which companies were selected as digital euro network service providers?
Two groupings: Nexi Payments with Deutsche Telekom Business Solutions (first-ranked) and Telefónica de España and Telefónica Global Solutions with Indra (second-ranked).
When do the contracts start?
The first-ranked contract took effect on 28 September 2026 and initially covers the pilot. The second-ranked contract starts in May 2027.
Will my bank have to use Nexi or Telefónica?
PSPs offering the digital euro can connect through either NSP, according to the ECB. Which one a given bank chooses is its own decision.
Does this mean the digital euro will be issued in 2029?
No. The ECB says both providers will be ready from 2029, subject to the Governing Council's decision on the next phase. Issuance also requires the regulation to be adopted.
Sources
DIGITAL EUR is an independent publisher, not affiliated with the ECB. Event date: 30 October 2026; this report was written on 5 November 2026.
- ECB — ECB selects network service providers for the digital euro, 30 October 2026 (accessed 5 November 2026)
- ECB — SIA-COLT and SWIFT are awarded the ESMIG concession, 17 May 2019 (accessed 5 November 2026)
- Deutsche Bundesbank — Contracts with network service providers (TARGET Services) (accessed 5 November 2026)
- ECB — Digital euro pilot (accessed 5 November 2026)
- ECB — Digital euro pilot FAQs (offline payments via NFC) (accessed 5 November 2026)
- ECB — Annex: PSPs selected for the digital euro pilot (accessed 5 November 2026)
- Teleborsa — Nexi e Deutsche Telekom selezionate dalla BCE per la connettività di rete per l'euro digitale, 30 October 2026 (in Italian; company statement) (accessed 5 November 2026)