Overview

• Consumers want any digital euro to be secure (55%), easy to use (53%) and low-cost or free (49%), according to a BEUC–Euroconsumers–ICRT survey in 10 euro-area countries.
• Awareness remains weak, with 42% of adults and 51% of youths saying they have never heard of the digital euro, and only about 11% of adults and 9% of youths feeling well informed.
• The ECB Governing Council plans to decide by the end of 2025 whether to move to the next preparatory phase, and board member Piero Cipollone has described 2029 as a realistic introduction date.
• Bank groups argue the retail CBDC plan is discouraging investment in Wero, with Sparkassen official Stefan G. Reuß saying some institutions are waiting rather than building parallel systems.
• Wero, developed by the European Payments Initiative, is already available in Germany, France and Belgium, while the ECB stresses that cash will remain essential, citing about 30.4 billion banknotes worth €1.6 trillion in circulation.