ECB’s Cipollone: Cash to Remain a Core Payment Option Alongside Digital Euro

4 August 2025

By David Barwick – FRANKFURT (Econostream) – Cash will remain a core component of the euro area’s payment system and coexist with the digital euro, European Central Bank Executive Board member Piero Cipollone said Monday.

In a blog post on the website of the ECB, Cipollone stressed that ‘cash is here to stay’, even as digital payments gain ground. While the pandemic and technological change have accelerated digitalisation, demand for euro banknotes remains strong, he said.

‘Europeans want to retain the option to pay with cash, so they expect it to remain available in the future’, he said.

Currently, 30.4 billion banknotes worth €1.6 trillion were in circulation, he said. Though growth slowed during the ECB’s tightening cycle, circulation is again increasing at annual rates of 2.3% by volume and 1.7% by value, he said.

The resilience of cash during crisis periods further underlines its importance, Cipollone noted. ‘The demand for cash during crises, such as the 2008 financial crisis, the European sovereign debt crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, underscores its importance, especially in turbulent times’, he said.

Cipollone welcomed the European Commission’s proposed Legal Tender of Cash Regulation and said the ECB supported efforts to protect the legal status of cash while advancing work on a digital euro.

The digital euro, he said, would complement rather than replace banknotes and coins, providing a ‘digital expression of cash’.

According to Cipollone, the ECB and the national central banks are also working to improve access to cash, amid a shrinking number of ATMs and bank branches. ‘Surveys further highlight that dissatisfaction with banks’ cash services is growing among both individuals and businesses’, he said.

The ECB is helping develop common indicators to monitor access across the euro area and supports allowing complementary national indicators to reflect local conditions.

On acceptance, Cipollone warned against the increasing number of merchants refusing cash. ‘Practices such as merchants refusing cash or displaying “no cash” signs … are fundamentally inconsistent with the legal tender status of euro cash’, he said.

Public authorities, he added, should ensure cash remains accepted for essential services like transport.

The ECB is also redesigning euro banknotes to modernise their appearance and security features, he observed, with a public design competition ongoing.

Cash, Cipollone concluded, remains ‘a resilient and reliable means of payment’, and its continued availability would support stability and autonomy in payments.