The ECB intends to defend the possibility of using cash throughout the Eurozone. Piero Cipollone, a former member of the executive committee of the European Central Bank, explained it, writing on the official website of the organ that governs the euro. In the last period the ECB has prompted a lot towards the digitization of the euro, but this must not mean an abandonment of cash.
The use of banknotes and coins, according to Cipollone, must be guaranteed, as it is the current money of the Eurozone. Exercises will not be able to exist where cash is prohibited.
The ECB wants to guarantee the use of cash
Cipollone stressed that the use of cash is fundamental, but above all it is always very popular with all age groups. After a stall of the application, when interest rates were very high, the request for banknotes returned to grow, with an increase of 2.3% in terms of volume and 1.7% in terms of value every year. The former member of the ECB executive committee explained:
Banknotes and euro coins have legal course throughout the euro area and therefore everyone must accept the payment in cash if the payer insists. Practices such as the refusal of cash by the operators or the exposure of signs with the wording “prohibited the use of cash” are not only unwanted, as they limit the freedom of choice of the payer in terms of payment, but are also fundamentally inconsistent with the legal course of cash in euros, as interpreted by the Court of Justice of the European Union.
The integration between digital euros and banknotes
According to the ECB, therefore, prohibiting cash would go against European laws. In recent years, the European Central Bank has prompted a lot for the spread of digital payments, more traceable and safe. Cipollone, however, reiterated that the role of cash will be to integrate this form of money circulation:
With a digital euro next to the cash, the Europeans will benefit from a wider range of payment methods. They will be able to use the Central Bank currency for almost all types of payment, including online transactions, and will benefit from greater safety, protection, efficiency, privacy and inclusiveness.
The future of the euro
In the near future, therefore, the euro will still tend to digitize itself more and more. Support for cash expressed by Cipollone does not mean a step back towards the innovation brought by the digitization of the single currency. The role of cash will change, from that of the main method of exchange of money had a more supplementary one in recent years. The same Cipollone explained:
The cash will remain of great importance and will coexist by other means of payment. Especially in times of crisis, the cash can meet critical needs of the public that alternatives cannot completely replace. In short: the cash is here to stay.
