Although euro banknotes and coins have been in circulation for fifteen years, not much is known about the actual use of cash by households. This paper presents an estimation of the number and value of cash transactions in all 19 euro area countries in 2016, based on survey results. It presents...

The substitution of noncash (check, giro, and credit and debit card) payments for cash transactions is difficult to gauge because there are no data series on the actual value or volume of cash transactions in any country. However, determining the degree of cash substitution is important because...

The assessment of consumer behavior regarding the choice of financial instruments may be extremely important in the near future, since the fight between cash and electronic money has reached a turning point, and electronic payments are slowly defeating cash. On one hand, in the long term, this...

Since the institution of a unified European market, the retail payment system has changed significantly. In September 2020, the European Commission adopted the Digital Finance Package, that includes a digital finance strategy, legislative proposals on crypto-assets and digital resilience, as...

Payments are a key focus of central banks, as - together with the safe, efficient operation of the payments market - wide access to cash is fundamentally important for a healthy economy. In this study, three main research areas were investigated: 1. socioeconomic characteristics that can be...

Central banks analyse issues concerning retail payments - or just payments - to be able to promote optimal means of payment. Over the years, electronic payments - i.e. payments initiated and settled electronically - have gradually replaced manual paper-based payments on the grounds of...