When we talk about the future of payment, it's usually about speed, security and convenience. But one essential part of every transaction is often overlooked: the receipt.
As part of the Digital Euro Innovation Platform of the European Central Bank (ECB), efsta participated as a Visionary Participant and proposed a concrete use case under section 3.2.1 "Integrated electronic receipts" of the official results report.
Our contribution aimed to rethink the receipt as a digital element of trust and transparency in the payment ecosystem: secure, verifiable and seamlessly integrated into every transaction.
The ECB's initiative examines how a possible digital euro could go beyond simply replicating cash in digital form. It asks how it could enable innovations for consumers, retailers and financial service providers.
To this end, the ECB invited "pioneers" and "visionaries" across Europe to test and develop new use cases. efsta was one of the selected visionaries focusing on one of the most practical and impactful applications: the digital receipt.
Simply put: a receipt that is created directly during the payment process. Instead of a paper receipt or a separate e-mail, the customer automatically receives a secure, standardized digital receipt directly at the moment of payment, linked directly to the digital euro transaction.
efsta has been working on digital receipt infrastructures and fiscal data security for many years, long before the ECB initiative started. Participating as a visionary gave us the opportunity to show how our experience in secure, standardized receipt management can contribute to a pan-European payment system.
In the Visionary track, our team proposed an architecture for the "receipt as a digital unit", embedded directly in the payment flow of the digital euro.
Central elements:
The ECB report emphasizes a crucial point: innovation does not come from the Eurosystem itself, but from the market.
This opens up opportunities for companies like efsta to actively shape the next generation of digital payment infrastructure.
Our participation in the ECB's Digital Euro Innovation Platform shows how a seemingly small element, the digital receipt, can mean a big step in the world of digital finance. You can find the official report here.
For efsta, the digital receipt is more than just a proof of transaction: it is the bridge between payment, compliance and customer experience.
It embodies what the digital euro is supposed to achieve:
Find out how efsta is working on the future of digital receipts and fiscal data infrastructures in Europe, please contact us, we are already shaping the standards of tomorrow.
If you would like to know more about how Simple Bill and Smart Bill are already making the digital receipt a reality, you can find more information here.
