Digital euro

The digital euro would be a direct claim on the ECB, like banknotes, but held in a digital wallet through banks and payment providers. People could pay in shops, online and between individuals across the euro area, including offline for small amounts, and the service would be free for basic use. The ECB closed its investigation phase in 2023 and a preparation phase in 2025, and is now readying the technology while EU institutions negotiate the regulation that would create it.

Its supporters present it as a way to keep public money relevant as cash use falls and to reduce Europe's dependence on non-European card schemes and dollar stablecoins. It is not a cryptocurrency: there is no public blockchain, no mining and no price movement against the euro.

Critics worry about privacy, about banks losing deposits and about the cost for merchants and banks. The design includes a holding limit per person, for which the ECB has used about 3,000 euros as a working figure (the final cap is not fixed), no interest on balances, and offline payments visible only to payer and payee. Issuance depends on the regulation being adopted; the ECB has named 2029 as the earliest realistic date.