Euro

Europe's lawmakers agree on the principle that cash must be accepted as legal tender. The argument is over the exceptions — machines without staff, merchants claiming security risks. Together, those two exceptions would apply exactly where people have no other way to pay. And neither exception, on the evidence, holds up.

The Banque de France, OeNB, and Banco de Portugal form a strategic alliance to secure cash sovereignty. The alliance forges resilient banknote production, blending innovation with tradition to safeguard the euro’s future in an unstable world

Bulgaria adopts the euro on January 1, 2026, becoming the 21st eurozone member. This historic step follows years of economic convergence and political commitment, promising greater stability and integration.

The European Central Bank is preparing the next euro banknote series more than 20 years after it launched the first banknotes on 1 January 2002. “European culture” and “Rivers and birds” were chosen as possible themes.

The European Central Bank is preparing the next euro banknote series more than 20 years after the launch of the first banknotes on 1 January 2002. Europeans are invited to express preferences on shortlisted themes in a public survey open until 31 August 2023.

On January 1, Croatia became the 20th member of the euro area. Euro banknotes and coins started circulating in the economy, and the Hrvatska Narodna Banka joined the Eurosystem and the Single Supervisory Mechanism.

An ECB survey shows that cash is the preferred payment method for 24% of companies, ahead of other alternatives. Most companies also perceive cash as a cheaper, faster and more reliable payment instrument.

Croatia set to become the 20th member of the eurozone on January 1, 2023, following favourable assessments by the European Commission and the European Central Bank.

The number of euro banknotes in circulation has increased fourfold since the launch of the physical currency in 2002 to reach 28 billion pieces at the end of 2021. Meanwhile, the number of counterfeits in relation to the total volume of banknotes in circulation has decreased more than fourfold.

The European Central Bank (ECB) has announced plans to redesign euro banknotes, working with European citizens in a process that is expected to lead to a final decision in 2024.

A new ECB report concludes that the exceptional demand for banknotes during the pandemic is driven by an increase in precautionary holdings in times of uncertainty as well as by international demand, a phenomenon known as the cash paradox.

The number of counterfeit euro banknotes withdrawn from circulation in 2020, has dropped by 17.7% in a year and has reached a historically low level in proportion to banknotes in circulation.