A digital euro would be a digital form of central bank money, specifically the euro. It could be used by the general public in much the same way as cash, only in virtual form. Alongside cash, the Eurosystem would thus supply households with an additional form of central bank money that can be used quickly, easily and securely.

In the context of payment and securities settlement systems, the Bundesbank acts not just as an operator of payment systems and as catalyst for desired changes on the market but is also entrusted with the task of oversight.

On 1 January 1999, the euro was introduced as book money. Three years later, people in Germany and eleven other European countries got their hands on euro banknotes and coins for the first time. Today, twenty-five years later, the euro is legal tender in twenty countries and has become an indispensable part of Europeans’ everyday lives.