The digital euro has been on the European Central Bank’s (ECB) table for years, but we increasingly know what it takes to make it a reality. The company aims to be ready for possible first emissions in 2029, if the necessary European legislation is approved in time. And we’re not just talking about greenlighting a new form of finance: we should too Construction of technical infrastructurefrom This will allow it to be used in practice. It is a task that involves numerous participants and in which two Spanish companies have just acquired a prominent role.
These are Telefonica and MinSight, the technology company of the Indra Group, which formed a consortium selected by the ECB. Its mandate is to establish and operate a secure communications infrastructure to connect banks and other payment service providers to the digital euro platform. Of course, the company also chose the consortium formed by Nexi Payments and Deutsche Telekom Business Solutions, whose contract is already in place and will initially cover the requirements of the pilot program. The contract with the Spanish companies will start on May 3, 2027 and will last for ten years.
To understand the magnitude of the project, we must first distinguish between paying digitally and using digital money by central banks. When we make purchases with a card, we usually use money deposited in the bank. On the other hand, the digital euro will be an electronic version of cash, issued and supported by the Eurosystem. Its design envisages payments in institutions, internet shopping and transfers between individuals, Both online and offline. And there are two fundamental differences compared to other alternatives: it will not be a cryptocurrency and it will not be designed to replace bills and coins.
The infrastructure that the digital euro needs
But there is an important difference between rewarded work: connecting external participants to the platform is one thing, and allowing its components to communicate with each other is another. Let’s think about a bank that needs access to services: it needs to exchange information over a secure connection. At the same time, the platform can distribute its systems among different data centers, which need to be connected. The contract covers precisely these two connection requirements.
In this distribution of work, Telefónica will contribute its experience in networks and connectivity through areas such as Telefónica Global Solutions and Telefónica Tech. The companies detailed in their press release that their work will include: Deploying a private MPLS networkSD-WAN solutions to connect various headquarters and cyber security services. Minsait, for its part, will provide tools to integrate applications and systems through APIs, in addition to digital identity solutions and electronic certificates. All this will be supported by a Security Operations Center (SOC), tasked with detecting threats and responding to potential incidents
How much does this order mean for the Spanish company? The ECB’s contract documents allow us to know the figures, but they also need to present some nuances. The estimated value of the awarded lot is 81.42 million euros, without VAT, and considering a contractual maximum of 177.66 million, an amount that should not be confused with guaranteed income. Effective billing will depend on the services provided during contract execution and, at this time, we do not know how the revenue will be distributed among the organizations.
The digital euro will not be the world’s first central bank digital currency, but Europe aims to take this model to a significant scale: 21 countries that share a single currency. The initiative also pursues an objective, Reducing dependence on foreign suppliers in daily payments. According to the ECB, two thirds of card operations rely on international networks and 13 countries in the euro zone lack their own national card systems. However, the project also generated resistance among financial institutions concerned about adaptation costs and its potential economic consequences.
The next step is expected to come in the second half of 2027, when the Eurosystem plans to start a twelve-month pilot exercise with 36 payment service providers, selected merchants and staff of the ECB and 19 national central banks. The aim is to see how an experimental version of the digital euro will work in everyday situations, although it will not yet be available to the general public. In the meantime, the European institutions have to complete the legal framework and the ECB has to decide on its issuance. Technical preparations are progressing, but the circulation of this currency is not yet certain.
Picture | Telefonica ECB
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