Kima Partners with the European Central Bank to Power the Future of Programmable Payments

Kima Network, the decentralized, asset-agnostic settlement protocol, has officially joined the European Central Bank’s (ECB) Pioneers Partnership Program, solidifying its place among the innovators shaping the digital euro and programmable finance.

Enabling Real-World Use of the Digital Euro

The ECB’s Pioneers initiative is designed to explore the practical implementation of conditional and programmable payments through a simulated digital euro environment. As one of approximately 70 participants, including global institutions like SAP, KPMG, and Swisscom, Kima brings its proprietary infrastructure to demonstrate programmable financial tools that work without smart contracts or external oracles.

Kima’s approach is uniquely suited for these use cases. The protocol enables secure, real-time settlement across traditional and blockchain-based ecosystems, using peer-to-peer technology instead of custodial bridges or middleware.

From TradFi to DeFi Without Intermediaries

The core of Kima’s contribution lies in unlocking cross-ecosystem payments between traditional financial infrastructure and decentralized networks. By integrating with the ECB’s Digital Euro simulated environment, Kima showcases how its infrastructure can handle programmable conditional payments and automated value transfer while meeting regulatory expectations.

Among its standout contributions is the development of Programmable Pay-for-Success (PFS) Bonds, a new class of outcome-based financial instruments. These digital euro-powered bonds enable conditional disbursement of funds for impact-driven initiatives like housing, sustainability, and public service, ushering in a new model for performance-based funding through blockchain transparency and automation.

A Track Record of Real-World Integration

Kima’s inclusion in the Pioneers Program builds on its earlier recognition during Israel’s Digital Shekel Challenge, where it successfully facilitated the first peer-to-peer tokenized stock purchase using a central bank digital currency (CBDC). That milestone established Kima’s ability to support CBDC settlement of real-world assets without reliance on intermediaries or custodians, a major breakthrough in digital finance.

Bridging the Future of Digital Payments

Kima’s role in the ECB program is more than symbolic. It reflects a deeper movement toward programmable, interoperable money systems and validates the need for infrastructures that can bridge Web2, Web3, and central bank innovation.

As governments and institutions push toward regulated digital assets and programmable currencies, Kima is positioning itself as the underlying infrastructure for the next phase of financial evolution. With its easy-to-integrate SDK and decentralized architecture, Kima empowers fintechs, banks, and blockchain platforms to embrace programmable payments without sacrificing compliance, security, or simplicity.