What it is

The digital euro would be a digital form of cash: an electronic means of retail payment issued by the European Central Bank. As such, it would be available free of charge to everyone in the euro area, for any digital payments. The digital euro is being designed to be inclusive and easy to use, ensuring no one is left behind.

Today, citizens do not have access to central bank-issued money in digital form. In our increasingly digitalised society, the digital euro would be the next step forward for our single currency.

Key feautures:

Digital cash

The digital euro could be used for all your digital payments, just as cash can for physical payments.

The digital euro could be used for all your digital payments, just as cash can for physical payments. It would offer another way to pay in stores or online shops, or to send money to friends and family.

Pan-European acceptance

You would be able to use digital euro with any shops and merchants in the euro area

You would be able to use digital euro with any shops and merchants in the euro area that accept digital payments.

Free of charge

Everyone in the euro area would be able to pay in digital euro free of charge

Everyone in the euro area would be able to pay in digital euro free of charge, just the same as with banknotes and coins.

Secure and private

The ECB and the Eurosystem would not be able to identify who you are or what you are buying from the payment data we get.

The ECB and the Eurosystem would not be able to identify who you are or what you are buying from the payment data we get. Moreover, the digital euro's offline functionality would guarantee a level of privacy comparable to cash.

Guaranteed value

A euro will always be a euro.

A euro will always be a euro. One digital euro would always be worth exactly the same as a €1 coin.

Inclusive

The digital euro will be designed to meet everyone's needs.

The digital euro will be designed to meet everyone's needs. With our user research, we are listening to European citizens, gathering data and insights that will help shape an inclusive digital euro that leaves no one behind.

Innovative

We are collaborating with the private and public sector to test new ideas, develop innovative features and provide practical solutions for real-life payment situations.

We are collaborating with the private and public sector to test new ideas, develop innovative features and provide practical solutions for real-life payment situations. The digital euro has the potential to offer people more choices and greater convenience, contributing to business success while also promoting innovation across Europe.

Content Editor

The digital euro would not be a crypto-asset. Crypto-assets are not backed or managed by a central institution, which makes them risky and unstable. You have no guarantee that you will be able to exchange your crypto-assets for cash when you need to.

Instead, the digital euro would be backed by the same institution that backs your cash – the European Central Bank. And just like cash, it would always be worth its face value.

Source: European Central Bank

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