Getting ready to operate GNU Taler in Germany

For the past three years, the NGI Taler project has worked towards the goal of making Taler legally available in the EU as an online payment system for everyday use.

在过去的三年里，NGI Taler 项目一直致力于实现一个目标，即让 Taler 作为一种日常使用的在线支付系统在欧盟合法化。

Today we can share that Taler Operations AG is being founded in Bochum. The new German company is going to operate Taler in Euro, enabling payments with Taler first in Germany, then in the Euro-zone. The next steps towards that goal are to apply to BaFin, Germany’s financial supervisory authority, for a licence as an e-money issuer.

今天我们宣布，Taler Operations AG 正在波鸿成立。这家新的德国公司将以欧元运营 Taler，首先在德国，随后在欧元区实现 Taler 支付。实现这一目标的下一步是向德国金融监管机构 BaFin 申请电子货币发行商牌照。

This post explains why this company is needed, what changed in the NGI TALER consortium, and how citizens who want to see Taler succeed can help, including as investors.

本文将解释为什么需要这家公司，NGI TALER 联盟发生了什么变化，以及希望看到 Taler 成功的公民如何提供帮助，包括作为投资者参与。

Taler is a payment system, not a currency, but usable for any currency. At its core, it issues bearer tokens to represent value, like coins, and this renders Taler as electronic money which falls under EU regulation: Any institution that issues electronic money (EMI) for Euros must be a bank or acquire a dedicated licence.

Taler 是一个支付系统，而非货币，但可用于任何货币。其核心是发行代表价值的持有人代币（类似于硬币），这使得 Taler 被归类为受欧盟监管的电子货币：任何发行欧元电子货币（EMI）的机构都必须是银行或获得专门的牌照。

In the original plan of the NGI TALER project, the Bochum-based GLS Bank took on the role of the e-money issuer for Taler, and worked towards the deployment of the Taler payment system in Germany with support from the other members of the NGI TALER consortium. However, in January 2026 GLS made the decision to not pursue this role further, for reasons unrelated to Taler as presented in their statement (gls.de/taler). Since then, GLS and the other members of the NGI TALER consortium worked out the best way forward to achieve the project’s goal to make Taler available in the Euro-zone.

在 NGI TALER 项目的最初计划中，总部位于波鸿的 GLS 银行承担了 Taler 电子货币发行商的角色，并在 NGI TALER 联盟其他成员的支持下，致力于在德国部署 Taler 支付系统。然而，2026 年 1 月，GLS 决定不再继续担任此角色，其声明（gls.de/taler）中提到的原因与 Taler 无关。此后，GLS 与 NGI TALER 联盟的其他成员共同商讨了实现项目目标（即在欧元区推广 Taler）的最佳途径。

The outcome is the announcement today. The new company Taler Operations AG will be set up to apply for an e-money licence and take over the role originally intended for GLS (who will remain a consortium member in a supporting role).

结果就是今天的公告。新公司 Taler Operations AG 将成立，负责申请电子货币牌照，并接管原定由 GLS 承担的角色（GLS 将继续作为联盟成员提供支持）。

We regret that the original plan did not work out. Integrating a new kind of payment system into an existing bank’s processes, compliance framework and IT is hard, and banks have to set priorities. We are grateful to GLS for its work in the project and for staying involved. And we also think the new arrangement has a real advantage: the institution operating Taler in Euro will be focused entirely on Taler, instead of fitting it into a larger bank’s product portfolio and process constraints.

我们对最初的计划未能实现感到遗憾。将一种新型支付系统整合到现有银行的流程、合规框架和 IT 系统中非常困难，银行必须设定优先级。我们感谢 GLS 在项目中所做的工作及其持续参与。同时，我们也认为新的安排具有真正的优势：运营欧元 Taler 的机构将完全专注于 Taler，而不是将其硬塞进大型银行的产品组合和流程限制中。

We stress that GNU Taler is and stays free software. The licensed company operates a service; Taler, the protocol suite, and its reference implementation GNU Taler remain open and free.

我们强调，GNU Taler 始终是自由软件。持牌公司运营的是一项服务；而 Taler、协议套件及其参考实现 GNU Taler 保持开放和免费。

The NGI TALER project continues: development, security reviews, integrations from the open calls, and the Swiss deployment all go on as before. The change concerns who will operate the Taler payment system in Euro in Germany, but not the direction of the project. We will report on the progress of the e-money licence application.

NGI TALER 项目仍在继续：开发、安全审查、来自公开征集的集成以及瑞士的部署都照常进行。此次变动仅涉及谁将在德国运营欧元 Taler 支付系统，并不影响项目方向。我们将持续报告电子货币牌照申请的进展。

If you want to help, you can tell merchants and organisations you care about that Taler is coming. You can try the Taler wallet with the demo site and report issues. You can also contribute to the software.

如果您想提供帮助，可以告诉您关注的商家和组织 Taler 即将到来。您可以尝试使用演示网站的 Taler 钱包并报告问题。您也可以为该软件做出贡献。

And you can invest to help us fund the launch and, if successful, benefit as a shareholder:

您也可以通过投资来帮助我们资助启动，如果成功，您还可以作为股东获益：

Getting an e-money licence takes capital. The law sets minimum own funds for EMIs, and BaFin also expects a credible business plan, staffing, compliance and IT security before granting authorisation. Taler Operations AG is therefore raising capital now.

获得电子货币牌照需要资金。法律规定了 EMI 的最低自有资金要求，BaFin 在授予授权前也要求提供可信的商业计划、人员配置、合规性和 IT 安全保障。因此，Taler Operations AG 目前正在筹集资金。

We are looking for investors who:

我们正在寻找符合以下条件的投资者：

We are especially interested in investors who share the values behind Taler: privacy for buyers, transparency for taxable income, no lock-in, and payments as public-interest infrastructure.

我们特别欢迎那些认同 Taler 背后价值观的投资者：买家隐私、应税收入透明度、无锁定限制，以及将支付视为公共利益基础设施。

请通过 invest@taler-systems.com 联系我们，以获取更多商业信息。