We use money every day, taking it for granted in our daily lives. At the same time, money is one of the most important business areas for any central bank. But what exactly is money? What forms does it take, and what are the characteristics that turn something into money? We answer these and other questions in the following animation film.

Bulgaria introduced the euro on 1 January 2026, replacing the Bulgarian lev (BGN). Bulgaria’s accession has brought the number of euro area Member States to 21. The last country to join before that was Croatia in 2023. 

Unternehmen meldeten per saldo eine Verschärfung bei den Zinsen für Bankkredite und den sonstigen Kreditkonditionen, die sowohl preisliche als auch nichtpreisliche Faktoren betrafen. Der Finanzierungsbedarf ist geringfügig gestiegen, während sich die Verfügbarkeit von Finanzmitteln nach Wahrnehmung der Unternehmen leicht verschlechterte.

Banknotes are part of our economy, our identity and our culture – and we at the ECB have an immense responsibility to ensure that people maintain their trust in them.