The Future of Money EU

We all rely on money to secure our families' futures, buy food, pay the rent, and keep our businesses running. Today, however, most of the money we use is created and managed by banks, which can, and do, go bankrupt. Why do we trust private money? Because we know we can always convert our deposits into cash, and we trust that the State will safeguard our deposits when a crisis hits. Maintaining access to cash is crucial to maintaining trust in our monetary system. 

Cash is also important for people who are not digitally savvy, and for those concerned about privacy, as it is the most anonymous form of money. 

In the digital era, however, private companies are seeking to dominate our online payments and savings. We need to protect our economic freedom and security.

The question is no longer whether the future of money will change – but who it will work for. 

What we do on the digital euro

Our organisation is one of the few civil society groups working on the digital euro and we engage deeply. We scrutinise the whole legislative process, from the European Parliament’s draft report to Member States’ positions in the Council and the European Central Bank (ECB)’s preparatory work. We provide briefings and political insights to the policymakers shaping the digital euro.

We work with experts and partner organisations to analyse the implications of the new rules, and we support citizens, consumer groups, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and small merchants so their needs are fully represented in this key debate.

The fight for the digital euro is basically the fight for the digital equivalent of cash, and its stability. Put  simply, we advocate for a future where digital payments remain safe, inclusive and under democratic control.

Public vs. Private money

In the Eurozone , there are two main types of money:

• Public money: cash and central bank reserves, issued and guaranteed by the ECB. It is the safest form of money; it cannot fail and always holds its full value.

• Private money: the balance in our bank accounts and most digital wallets. This money is created by commercial banks when they make loans. It represents a promise from the bank, not a direct guarantee from the state.

In the Eurozone, cash constitutes 14% of the money in circulation in the real economy. Put  simply, over recent decades, private bank money has come to dominate. At the same time, banks and card companies control most of the infrastructure we use to pay. 

Cash is essential, and we must fight to preserve it, since it guarantees:

• Public access - Anyone can use it without needing a bank account or a third-party gatekeeper.

• Resilience -  It works when cards, apps or networks fail, securing commerce and stability in a crisis.

• Privacy- Our small everyday purchases leave no digital trail. We preserve our freedom from surveillance.

Yet, access to cash is under attack. Banks shut down "unprofitable" branches and ATMs. More businesses ask customers to use card- or app-only payments. In practice, we are being pushed towards relying entirely on digital money – whether we want it or not. 

We’ll always defend your right to cash. But protecting cash alone is no longer enough in an economy where payments are increasingly digital.

Risks for people, SMEs, and even European sovereignty

If we allow current trends to continue, our digital payment system will increasingly fall victim to a handful of big private companies, many of them non-European, and to risky forms of dollar-based stablecoins controlled by foreign tech and financial giants.

The critical risks are:

• Loss of European monetary sovereignty: if we rely on non-European networks or US stablecoins, Europe opens itself up to external shocks, weakening the EU's ability to run an independent monetary policy

• Financial exclusion: we abandon the less digitally savvy, those with low incomes, and vulnerable people as cash becomes unusable

• Concentrating market power and data: allowing these firms to control all daily transactions hands them power over fees, innovation, and data on how every one of us spends our money

• Financial instability: private banks manage most of the money in circulation and the payment infrastructure. But in crises, public authorities step in with guarantees and bailouts. This forces us, the taxpayers, to socialize the risks while keeping the profits private

Put simply: the more our payment system moves online without a strong, public anchor like the digital euro, the more fragile, unequal, and dependent Europe becomes.

Our demand: a digital euro that works for people and businesses

We support the introduction of a digital euro issued by the ECB, designed as a digital complement to cash, not a replacement.

A well-designed digital euro will deliver real benefits:

• It gives every citizen and SME access to a safe, state-backed form of electronic money.

• It provides a sovereign European payment infrastructure that strengthens the EU’s strategic autonomy and reduces the reliance on non-European providers.

Because this is public money, we demand that it be designed for the benefit of all of us – not just to protect the business models of big banks.

Here are the essential features we demand for the digital euro:

1. Free for people and SMEs

Everyone must be able to use the digital euro for everyday payments at no extra cost. This is vital for SMEs and small merchants to encourage adoption. This means

• Free basic services for individuals.

• Capped, transparent fees for merchants: this makes accepting the digital euro attractive for the smallest businesses and micro-retailers.

2. Strong privacy 

We need robust privacy to earn and keep public trust. We demand cash-like privacy for low-value payments.

• Offline digital euro: transactions remain private, leaving no centralized database of people’s spending habits.

• Data control back to us: people must control whether payment service providers use their data for commercial purposes, with an undeniable right to opt out.

3. Accessible via public-friendly intermediaries

All EU residents and businesses must have the option to access the digital euro through a public or non-profit channel, including public banks and postal offices, alongside private commercial banks.

4. High holding limits

To be genuinely useful for households and SMEs, people must be able to hold enough digital euros to cover real needs (rent, salary, deposits) and represent a meaningful store of value. Limits should not be used as a political tool to render the digital euro irrelevant.

5. A sovereign European payment infrastructure

A robust public payment infrastructure secures Europe’s position in a shifting global monetary system, protecting us against geopolitical tensions and crises, and supporting EU monetary sovereignty.

The future of the digital euro is now: a timeline

Key decisions on the digital euro are approaching. The European Parliament is expected to vote in summer 2026. Trilogues — the negotiations to agree on the final law between the Parliament and the Council of the European Union — are likely to begin in autumn 2026, once EU co-legislators (the Parliament and the Council) have adopted their respective positions.

At the same time, the ECB will continue technical preparations so it can implement the digital euro once legislation is adopted. Under the current timeline, the rollout is expected to start in 2029, after the pilot phase.

If the digital euro is weakened or delayed, Europe will remain dependent on private platforms and foreign stablecoins. But if designed well, free, anonymous, accessible and usable in  meaningful amounts it can strengthen financial inclusion and Europe’s monetary sovereignty.

If designed well — free to use, privacy-respecting, widely accessible, and usable at meaningful amounts — the digital euro is our unique opportunity to make our money system safer, more inclusive, and resilient.

We must not miss this historic chance to shape the future of money in the public interest.