Between August and September 2026, the ECB announced accessibility features for the digital euro, launched calls for participation, amended legal acts, and addressed market infrastructure, financial stability, and governance issues.
During August and September 2026, the European Central Bank (ECB) made several key decisions and announcements.
On 30 July 2026, the ECB issued a press release detailing accessibility features of the digital euro app, which will exceed European Accessibility Act requirements. Usability and accessibility testing will begin in 2027 as part of the digital euro pilot. The related documentation is available on the ECB’s website.
On 15 September 2026, the ECB called for expressions of interest from e-commerce and mobile commerce merchants in the euro area to participate in the digital euro pilot, with a submission deadline of 27 October 2026. On 28 September 2026, a similar call was issued for private companies and organizations to explore how the digital euro infrastructure could support innovation, with a deadline of 9 November 2026. Details are available on the ECB’s website.
On 23 September 2026, the ECB reported that nearly ten million people participated in a survey on the future design of euro banknotes, representing 2.6% of the euro area population. The survey ran from 23 July to 21 September 2026. Next steps and further information are available on the ECB’s website.
Legal amendments to the Eurosystem monetary policy framework were adopted on 22 September 2026, with application from 30 November 2026, including Guideline ECB/2026/26 and Guideline ECB/2026/27. Details are available on the ECB’s website.
In macroprudential policy, the ECB approved the ESCB’s response to the European Commission’s consultation on MiCAR on 7 September 2026, emphasizing the importance of maintaining effective regulation. The response is accessible on the ECB’s website.
Regarding market infrastructure, the ECB approved the appointment of Sigríður Dis Guðjónsdóttir to the Market Infrastructure Board on 30 July 2026. The Pontes pilot agreement was approved on 11 August 2026, with a scheduled launch on 21 September 2026, to enable settlement of tokenized assets in central bank money. The Visa Europe Payment System was identified as systemically important on 24 August 2026, with oversight by the Eurosystem. Progress on interlinking TIPS with other fast payment systems, including Brazil’s Pix, was noted on 24 September 2026, with further assessments underway.
In legislative advice, the ECB issued several opinions including on Poland’s Defence Investment Fund, Ireland’s participation in the IMF’s Resilience and Sustainability Trust, and measures on crypto-asset activities, between July and September 2026. Details are available on the ECB’s website.
In corporate governance, the mandates of three Administrative Board of Review members were extended until 2029 or 2032, with decisions made on 11 September 2026. The ECB also approved the resignation of Ms. Isabel Schnabel from her ECB position, effective 3 January 2027, following an ethics review on 24 September 2026.
In statistics and supervision, amendments to balance sheet and interest rate statistics were adopted on 11 September 2026. The ECB approved the data protection arrangement for supervisory data processing on 30 July 2026, and published the results of the 2026 geopolitical risk reverse stress test on 31 July 2026. The first annual whistleblowing report was approved on 4 August 2026. The ECB confirmed compliance with EBA guidelines on 14 August 2026.
Further decisions included the extension of mandates for members of the Administrative Board of Review and the approval of decision frameworks related to recovery plans and internal models, as detailed in the source document.
