In an interview with ELLE, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde highlighted the ECB’s planned EuroSteps mobile app to promote financial education and reiterated the policy rationale for a digital euro as central bank-backed digital cash alongside continued access to physical cash. The EuroSteps app is designed as a step-count challenge that sends participants practical, easy-to-understand prompts on managing money and making financial decisions. Lagarde described the digital euro as “essentially, a virtual banknote” intended to support a growing shift to digital payments with an easy, fast, inexpensive and accessible means of payment across the euro area, using infrastructure that would be open to commercial banks free of charge for service innovation. EuroSteps participation is structured around an April walking challenge, with steps aggregated by country and euro area Member States competing on distance walked.
European Central Bank 2026-03-08
European Central Bank President Lagarde outlines EuroSteps financial education app and restates the digital euro’s role as a virtual banknote
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde discussed the ECB's EuroSteps mobile app aimed at enhancing financial education and the policy rationale for a digital euro. The app will offer practical financial management prompts, while the digital euro is envisioned as a virtual banknote to facilitate digital payments across the euro area.