The European Central Bank is the custodian of the euro. It is our job to keep banknotes secure and safeguard the supply of euro cash to the economy4, as well as investigating innovative and complementary forms of payment.
Last year, we launched the digital euro project.5 We will investigate how a digital euro could offer a convenient, cost-free means of payment, allowing people to pay anywhere in the euro area with risk-free digital money – for example, when making payments online, which preclude the use of cash. In any event, a digital euro would complement cash, not replace it.