In an era of digital payments, the European Central Bank (ECB) reiterates the importance of cash, calling it a vital tool for resilience during emergencies.
The warning comes from an article entitled Emblematic title, “Keep Calm and Carry Cash” (keep calm and bring the cash with you), published in the economic bulletin of the Frankfurt Institute. The ECB describes banknotes as “an essential component of the national preparation for crises”, underlining that they serve not only to individual needs but also contribute to “a wider resilience of a systemic nature”.
But what does it mean in practice? For the central bank, each family should keep a supply of cash at home “sufficient to cover the essential needs for about 72 hours”. The study even indicates an orientation figure, suggesting to keep aside between 70 and 100 euros for each member of the family unit.
The ECB is not an isolated position. Indeed, the same recommendation has already been released by several European governments, from the Netherlands to Finland, up to Austria, confirming a shared strategy to face electric blackouts or interruptions of digital networks. A reminder that, in an increasingly virtual world, the tangible value of cash remains irreplaceable.
The examples over the years
The Study of the ECB is not limited to a recommendation, but based on the analysis of recent crisis: from the pandemic to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, to the Greek debt crisis and to the Iberian blackout of April 2025. In all these emergencies, the document attributes to central banks and private sector the crucial task of “ensuring a robust supply of cash”.
The reason is clear: the cash is defined as “the only passivity of a central bank directly available to everyone”, a pillar not only for daily transactions but above all for economic stability and public trust.
The study published by the ECB highlighted how the cash demand undergoes the impinics when the stability (economic, political or social) of a country is threatened, regardless of the nature of the crisis, by its geographical amplitude or by the degree of digitization. At the end of 2020, in the middle of Covid, the net issue of banknotes in the euro area had risen to +140 billion. A similar phenomenon occurred with the war in Ukraine: in neighboring countries, the daily emission grew by 36%, reaching a peak of 80 million euros in a single day at the end of February 2022.
The ECB wants to keep the cash, despite the digital euro
Ultimately, the position of the ECB is clear: the cash is not a legacy of the past, but an essential component for the system. Its universal nature, tangible and independent of technology makes it a “low -cost insurance” for society. As pointed out, his role becomes crucial in crises, acting as a pillar of stability and trust when other forms of payment could falter.
In recent months there had been a lot of talk about the digital euro, fueling doubts about the end of the banknotes. This will not be the case, but rather but integrates its function, creating a more robust payments ecosystem. As Piero Cipollone said, former member of the ECB EXECUTIVE committee:
The cash will remain of great importance and will coexist by other means of payment. Especially in times of crisis, (it) can meet critical needs of the public that alternatives cannot completely replace. In short: the cash is here to stay.
