News item | 19-12-2025 | 15:38
EU countries today reached an agreement on a digital euro. The digital euro is a digital form of cash issued by the European Central Bank. It is an additional way to pay (anonymously) in the future, in addition to money in a bank account or cash. So it is not mandatory.
The EU countries reached an agreement after the European Commission presented a proposal for the introduction of a digital euro in June 2023. The Netherlands has committed itself to strict privacy conditions, non-programmability and offline use. These parts are now well anchored in the regulation. The Netherlands has also focused on ensuring that the costs of using a digital euro remain low for retailers.
A digital euro will not be available until 2029 at the earliest. The European Parliament must still approve. The EU countries and the European Parliament must then reach an agreement together.
Paying with the digital euro: online and offline
Everyone will soon be able to open a separate account at a bank to use digital euros. You can pay using the bank’s app, an ECB app or a separate payment card. There will be an online and an offline version of the digital euro. With the online variant, privacy is comparable to other digital payment methods, such as debit card or paying with your phone. The offline digital euro offers even more privacy and works, for example, by keeping phones close to each other. The latter means that payments are also possible in the event of an internet, power or bank failure.
There will be an obligation to accept the digital euro for retailers. If retailers now accept debit card payments, they will have to accept digital euro payments in the same way. In the first few years, this will not be more expensive for Dutch retailers than comparable existing payments. And there are also measures in the long term to prevent high costs for retailers.
The EU countries see the digital euro as an additional means of payment and is not intended for saving. A holding limit will therefore apply, which means that there will be a maximum for the number of digital euros that you can hold. Moreover, users do not receive interest, just as this is not the case with cash.
Non-programmability
The EU countries unanimously agree that the digital euro, or the technology behind it, should not be programmable. This means that the use of the digital euro cannot be linked to a specific purpose. The inclusion of this ban in the regulation ensures a strong anchorage.
Costs
Standard services, such as opening or closing a digital euro account and paying with the digital euro, will be free for consumers. Setting up and making the digital euro possible does cost money. The European Central Bank covers part of the costs of payment transactions. Banks, payment service providers and retailers also contribute. In the first years, retailers are protected from higher rates. When, after a few years, more is known about the actual costs for banks and payment service providers, the rates will be adjusted accordingly.