IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bas/econth/y2026i1p126-155.html

The Digital Euro in the Context of the Evolution of Finance

Author

Listed:
  • Nikolay Lazarov

Abstract

The digital euro is a European Central Bank initiative to introduce an electronic form of central bank money for public use. This study analyses the potential impact of the digital euro on consumer behaviour at point-of-sale transactions within the eurozone, applying a scenario modelling approach with three adoption levels: low, moderate, and aggressive. Baseline data are derived from the ECB’s SPACE 2024 survey. The model forecasts the displacement of cash and partial substitution of card payments by the digital euro, with the aggressive scenario reaching a 45% share of POS transactions over a 10-year horizon. The analysis incorporates sceptical viewpoints concerning realistic assumptions, country-specific cultural preferences, and the private sector’s strategic response. Results suggest that the digital euro could significantly reshape payment structures, although the speed and scale of adoption will depend upon regulatory frameworks, technological infrastructure, and incentives for both consumers and merchants.

Suggested Citation

  • Nikolay Lazarov, 2026. "The Digital Euro in the Context of the Evolution of Finance," Economic Thought journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 1, pages 126-155.
    • Handle: RePEc:bas:econth:y:2026:i:1:p:126-155
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://etj.iki.bas.bg/storage/app/uploads/public/69c/eb9/b81/69ceb9b8151ce300309681.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Patrick Schueffel, 2025. "Can CBDC Mimic Cash? A Deep Dive into the Digital Euro Case," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-35, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.

      More about this item

      JEL classification:

      • E42 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Monetary Systems; Standards; Regimes; Government and the Monetary System
      • E58 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Monetary Policy, Central Banking, and the Supply of Money and Credit - - - Central Banks and Their Policies
      • G21 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Banks; Other Depository Institutions; Micro Finance Institutions; Mortgages
      • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

      Statistics

      Access and download statistics

      Corrections

      All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bas:econth:y:2026:i:1:p:126-155. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

      If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

      If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

      If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

      For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Diana Dimitrova (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ikbasbg.html .

      Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

      IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.