It’s no secret that Germany loves cash. However, the pandemic and the new focus on hygiene showed that even in the Federal Republic, cashless payments can also be interesting for payments of less than €10. In Germany, just over 50 % of all payments are currently still settled using cash. In a few years’ time, it should also be possible to pay with the digital euro. Burkhard Balz, Executive Board member at the Deutsche Bundesbank, is jointly responsible for the digital currency project. On the fringes of the Ludwig-Erhard summit, he revealed in an interview with Frankfurter Rundschau what can be expected and why cash lovers actually have reason to be cheerful.

Die Finanzsanktionen gegen bestimmte Personen, Organisationen und Einrichtungen angesichts der Lage in der Ukraine dienen der Durchführung von Maßnahmen der Europäischen Union.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, German households’ nominal financial assets grew by €136 billion, totalling €9,050 billion as at the end of the year. This is now the fifth increase in succession, continuing the growth streak that has been ongoing since the end of 2023. Households increased their claims by €79 billion and generated valuation gains of €57 billion.

The German government has decided to mint a €10 collector coin entitled “Federal Agency for Technical Relief”, which is scheduled for issue on 24 April 2025.

This year’s Bundesbank symposium “Banking supervision in dialogue” focused on geopolitical risks, artificial intelligence and streamlining bureaucracy. Bundesbank Executive Board member Michael Theurer believes it is important to have a nuanced debate on regulation in order to increase efficiency and reduce “red tape” without lowering standards. The industry meeting in Frankfurt was attended by around 450 supervisors and banking industry representatives.

Am 22. April 2025 beschloss der EZB-Rat nach der jährlichen Überprüfung dieser Verzeichnisse, das Verzeichnis der von der EZB zugelassenen nicht geregelten Märkte und das Verzeichnis der von der EZB anerkannten Institutionen mit öffentlichem Förderauftrag, die für eine Teilnahme am Sicherheitenrahmen des Eurosystems zugelassen sind, unverändert zu belassen.