These denominations make it easy for consumers to make pay euro and cent amounts in cash. To gain the public’s confidence, a reliable and efficient banknote and coin system has been developed. Since confidence also depends largely on the technical features of the banknotes and coins, efforts were taken to make their design as user-friendly as possible.
For example, consumer associations, the European Blind Union and representatives of the manufacturers of vending machines were consulted in order to meet the specific requirements of these important currency user groups. Consumer aspects were taken into account even in the alloying of the coins: for the protection of persons suffering from allergies, the nickel content in the coins was substantially reduced.