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The European Central Bank (ECB) has selected Portugal-based artificial intelligence startup Feedzai to provide fraud detection and prevention capabilities for the upcoming digital euro project.
The partnership marks a significant milestone in the ECB’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) initiative, which entered development in 2021 and is now progressing into its second phase of preparation. Feedzai’s selection is one of five tenders awarded by the ECB, reflecting the bank’s efforts to build a robust regulatory framework that prioritizes fraud detection, risk assessment, and compliance management.
At the heart of this phase is a framework agreement with vendors for the risk and fraud management component, estimated to be worth between €79.1 million and €273 million. Under the agreement, Feedzai will collaborate with subcontractor PwC to deliver AI-driven fraud prevention solutions aligned with the EU’s strict data privacy, regulatory compliance, and cybersecurity standards.
Feedzai’s platform leverages advanced compliance analytics to assign a fraud risk score to every transaction. This enables payment service providers to combine intelligence from multiple data points before deciding whether to approve or block transactions.
“Being selected as the first-ranked tenderer in the framework agreement to secure the digital euro is both an honor and a responsibility,” said Nuno Sebastiao, CEO and co-founder of Feedzai. “With tens of billions of transactions expected across the eurozone, success depends on AI that adapts as quickly as fraud evolves. Our mission is to deliver intelligence that prevents even the most sophisticated fraud, ensuring trust in every digital euro transaction from day one.”
Alongside Feedzai’s fraud detection mandate, the ECB also awarded a tender to Germany-based Giesecke+Devrient, which will partner with Nexi and Capgemini on the development of an offline payment solution for the digital euro.
As Europe advances toward the official rollout of its CBDC, these partnerships highlight the growing role of RegTech solutions, compliance automation, and AI-powered fraud detection in shaping the future of digital finance. By embedding advanced regulatory technology frameworks, the ECB is aiming to build a digital euro ecosystem anchored on security, trust, and regulatory enforcement.
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