ECB Announces Digital Euro App Will Incorporate Highest Accessibility Standards

The European Central Bank has published the accessibility features of the digital euro app, designed to allow users to access basic digital euro services. From the outset, accessibility and inclusion have been core design principles. The proposed app features go beyond the requirements of the European Accessibility Act and related standard EN 301 549, incorporating advanced features such as enhanced visual design, full keyboard navigation, screen reader support, time-out warnings, simplified language, error prevention, and reduced motion settings. ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone stated that like cash, the digital euro will be a public good accessible to all Europeans on equal terms. The app design was developed in cooperation with consumer organizations, accessibility experts, and national central banks. The app will be tested during the digital euro pilot launching in 2027, with usability and accessibility testing involving the ONCE Foundation for Cooperation and Social Inclusion of People with Disabilities and ECB staff. The digital euro app will be one of several ways to access basic digital euro services, alongside channels offered by payment service providers.