Erste Group Pilots Quantum Encryption in Banking Infrastructure to Prepare for Post-Quantum Cybersecurity Era

Erste Group Pilots Quantum Encryption in Banking Infrastructure to Prepare for Post-Quantum Cybersecurity Era

(IN BRIEF) Erste Group has piloted Europe’s first commercial use of entanglement-based quantum encryption in banking, integrating eQKD technology into its Vienna fiber network in partnership with A1 and zerothird. The project demonstrates how quantum-secure communication can protect financial systems against future quantum-computing threats and signals a shift from experimental research to operational deployment. As part of the EU-backed QUAPITAL initiative, the partners aim to build a quantum-secure link between Vienna and Frankfurt, a development that could enable long-distance quantum networks and reinforce Europe’s digital and technological sovereignty.

(PRESS RELEASE) VIENNA, 23-Feb-2026 — /EuropaWire/ — Erste Group has taken a pioneering step in cybersecurity by becoming the first European banking group to pilot the commercial deployment of entanglement-based quantum encryption to protect critical financial infrastructure. The initiative, carried out in collaboration with telecommunications provider A1 and Austrian deeptech firm zerothird, marks the transition of quantum-secure communication from research to real-world banking operations.

The pilot, implemented in Vienna, successfully integrated an entangled Quantum Key Distribution (eQKD) solution into Erste Group’s existing fiber-optic network. The technology, rooted in Nobel Prize-winning Austrian research, enables the secure generation and exchange of cryptographic keys using quantum entanglement, creating a level of protection designed to withstand the computational power of future quantum computers. Following the successful test phase, Erste Group plans to progressively expand quantum-secure capabilities across its international infrastructure.

By introducing this technology, the bank aims to prepare its systems for a post-quantum environment in which traditional encryption methods may no longer provide sufficient defense. Quantum encryption adds a physics-based layer of security that cannot be compromised without detection, making it particularly suited for safeguarding highly sensitive financial data and transactions.

The project has already demonstrated operational stability, with zerothird’s eQKD system successfully encrypting and decrypting data within the bank’s live environment. This validates the scalability of quantum-secure solutions for complex financial ecosystems and positions Erste Group among the global leaders exploring practical quantum applications in finance.

A next phase under the EU-supported QUAPITAL initiative seeks to extend the technology beyond a single city by establishing a quantum-secure communication link between Vienna and Frankfurt—two major European financial hubs. Achieving this would overcome one of the primary technical challenges of Quantum Key Distribution: maintaining secure transmission over long distances where signal loss in optical fibers can degrade quantum states.

If realized, the connection would represent a major advancement in building large-scale quantum networks and contribute to Europe’s ambition to strengthen technological sovereignty in the face of growing global investment in quantum innovation.

The collaboration between financial services, telecommunications, and quantum technology specialists highlights a broader European effort to translate cutting-edge scientific research into deployable infrastructure capable of supporting secure digital economies for decades to come.

Media Contact:

Margarita Thiel, +43 (0) 50100 – 13425, E-Mail: margarita.thiel@erstegroup.com

Lev Ratner, +43 (0) 50100 – 17643, E-Mail: lev.ratner@erstegroup.com

SOURCE: Erste Group