The Austrian National Bank (OeNB) published a recap of a Vienna public forum on the future of cash and the planned introduction of the digital euro, positioning the digital euro as digital central bank money intended to complement, not replace, euro banknotes and coins. The update notes that the fundamental political decision on introducing a digital euro is expected to be taken by EU legislators in 2026, while the Eurosystem is already preparing the technical foundations for a possible launch. According to the release, the digital euro is envisaged as the first digital legal tender, with a planned acceptance obligation and the aim of enabling fee-free payments that are data-secure and possible offline. The event brought together policymakers, financial institutions, businesses and public-sector representatives, alongside more than 130 citizens, to discuss practical use cases and implementation challenges, including payments in-store, online, to public authorities and person-to-person. The OeNB also highlighted its ongoing engagement with Austrian stakeholders and referenced an OeNB information portal for market participants and innovation partners preparing for the digital euro. Next steps focus on EU lawmakers establishing the legal framework, alongside continued technical work by the Eurosystem and ongoing stakeholder dialogue to support broad usability across euro area countries.
Austrian National Bank (OeNB) 2025-12-05
Austrian National Bank reiterates the digital euro will complement cash ahead of an expected 2026 EU lawmaker decision
The Austrian National Bank (OeNB) recapped a Vienna forum on the future of cash and the digital euro, emphasizing its role as digital central bank money complementing physical currency. The digital euro is planned as the first digital legal tender with fee-free, data-secure payments, and EU legislators are expected to decide on its introduction in 2026. The OeNB continues engaging stakeholders and preparing technical foundations for its potential launch.