Banque de France is reportedly planning to initiate numerous pilot projects revolving around the digital euro. 

Specifically, Banque de France has reportedly shortlisted eight entities to join in the testing phase of a CBDC for interbank settlements. 

The project participants reportedly consist of mainstream heavyweights, nominally Accenture, HSBC, and Societe Generale, together with smaller-scale crypto-related firms such as Seba Bank and LiquidShare.

The announcement was reportedly put out after the central bank’s call for participants for the use of a digital euro, disclosed in March this year. At that time, the institution reportedly claimed that a maximum number of 10 CBDC-focused applications would be chosen, with “innovative nature” to be in the list of primary criteria. 

Now, the French central bank will reportedly carry out work with every of the eight participants, concerning their proposed experiments “over the coming months”, deep diving into the “new methods of exchanging financial instruments”. 

Moreover, the trials will reportedly look to settle the way CBDCs can be distributed and used for cross-border payments.Notedly, Banque de France is reportedly focusing on wholesale, rather than the retail aspect of a digital euro, which means that the CBDC be designed for “interbank regulations”, not consumer purposes.