We are committed to cash and to ensuring that paying with central bank money is always an option.
Euro banknotes and coins are legal tender in the euro area. Cash is an important part of your freedom to choose how to pay and essential for the financial inclusion of all groups in society.
Our cash strategy aims to ensure that euro cash remains widely available, accessible and accepted as both a means of payment and a store of value. It will also remain innovative, secure and environmentally friendly.
We safeguard the future of cash in several ways.
We ensure the availability of euro cash
We make sure that euro banknotes and coins are available at all times. The national central banks offer cash services free of charge and work to make the way money moves through the economy as cost efficient as possible. We also take into account needs for euro cash outside the euro area.
We support access to cash services for everyone
People and businesses must be able to access their money. As such, we support banks in providing adequate cash services, such as free cash withdrawals or withdrawals without excessive fees. Retailers can also offer alternative cash services like cashback or limited cash withdrawals.
We make sure that cash is accepted everywhere
Most people in the euro area consider it important to be able to pay in cash. Ensuring that cash is accepted everywhere is therefore essential. It gives people the freedom to choose how to pay, without disadvantaging those who do not have access to electronic payments.
We develop innovative and secure euro banknotes
Euro banknotes are protected by the latest technologies to make them highly resistant to counterfeiting and easy to authenticateby the public and professional cash handlers. We ensure the high quality of euro banknotes and are working on new designs for a future series.
We keep banknotes safe and sustainable
We make sure our banknotes are safe to produce and use. For instance, we research and test the potential impact of banknote production and circulation on public health and the environment. We also study how to make banknotes as sustainable as possible.
Learn more about the environmental footprint of euro banknotes
Latest publications on cash
Dive deeper
The role of cash
Cash is the most frequently used means of payment in stores in the euro area and can be used by everyone. Cash offers important functions and benefits.
Payment attitudes of consumers
To get a better understanding of how consumers are changing their payment habits, and to what extent, the ECB investigates the payment attitudes and behaviours of euro area citizens.
The paradox of banknotes
In recent years, the demand for euro banknotes has constantly increased while the use of banknotes for retail transactions seems to have decreased, a phenomenon referred to as the ‘“paradox of banknotes”.
Frequently asked questions
Will cash disappear in the near future?Are retailers allowed to reject cash as a means of payment?Do national central banks have competences over banknotes and coins?