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Trends and developments in the use of euro cash over the past ten years

Author

Listed:
  • Lalouette, Laure
  • Esselink, Henk

Abstract

This article presents the developments in the circulation of euro banknotes and the underlying drivers of cash demand in the euro area and abroad. Cash in circulation is on the rise, both in the euro area and abroad. In addition, data from a survey on the use of cash in the euro area indicates that by volume and number of transactions cash remained the most used payment instrument in 2016. However, the growth in banknote circulation can only partially be explained by transaction demand. Most euro banknotes in circulation are used as a store of value and households and firms inside and outside of the euro area obviously value the option of storing part of their assets in central bank money. Considering the currently low opportunity costs of holding cash, the stored euro banknotes can be expected to return if interest rates were to increase. However, as shown by developments over the past ten years, the store of value function is determined not only by interest rates, but also by external events which cannot be predicted. The demand for banknotes has also been impacted by various additional factors such as the financial and sovereign debt crises, geopolitical uncertainties, exchange rate developments and policy decisions JEL Classification: D12, E41, E42

Suggested Citation

  • Lalouette, Laure & Esselink, Henk, 2018. "Trends and developments in the use of euro cash over the past ten years," Economic Bulletin Articles, European Central Bank, vol. 6.
    • Handle: RePEc:ecb:ecbart:2018:0006:3
    Note: 610969
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    File URL: https://www.ecb.europa.eu//pub/economic-bulletin/articles/2018/html/ecb.ebart201806_03.en.html
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Luca Baldo & Elisa Bonifacio & Marco Brandi & Michelina Lo Russo & Gianluca Maddaloni & Andrea Nobili & Giorgia Rocco & Gabriele Sene & Massimo Valentini, 2021. "Inside the black box: tools for understanding cash circulation," Mercati, infrastrutture, sistemi di pagamento (Markets, Infrastructures, Payment Systems) 7, Bank of Italy, Directorate General for Markets and Payment System.
    2. Rösl, Gerhard & Seitz, Franz, 2022. "On the stabilizing role of cash for societies," IMFS Working Paper Series 167, Goethe University Frankfurt, Institute for Monetary and Financial Stability (IMFS).
    3. Giorgia Rocco, 2019. "The use of cash in Italy: evidence from the ECB Study on the use of cash by households," Questioni di Economia e Finanza (Occasional Papers) 481, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    4. Bindseil, Ulrich & Senner, Richard, 2024. "Destabilisation of bank deposits across destinations: assessment and policy implications," Working Paper Series 2887, European Central Bank.
    5. Richard Finlay & Andrew Staib & Max Wakefield, 2018. "Where's the Money‽ An Investigation into the Whereabouts and Uses of Australian Banknotes," RBA Research Discussion Papers rdp2018-12, Reserve Bank of Australia.
    6. Anton Schautzer & Helmut Stix, 2019. "Approaching 20 years of euro cash in Austria: What has changed, and what’s next?," Monetary Policy & the Economy, Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank), issue Q1-Q2/19, pages 99-112.
    7. Tamás Végsõ, 2020. "Comparative Analysis of the Changes in Cash Demand in Hungary," Financial and Economic Review, Magyar Nemzeti Bank (Central Bank of Hungary), vol. 19(1), pages 90-118.
    8. Marc Sanchez-Roger & Esther Puyol-Antón, 2021. "Digital Bank Runs: A Deep Neural Network Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-18, February.
    9. Yulia Titova & Delia Cornea & Sébastien Lemeunier, 2021. "What Factors Keep Cash Alive in the European Union?," De Economist, Springer, vol. 169(3), pages 291-317, August.
    10. Anton Schautzer & Helmut Stix, 2019. "Approaching 20 years of euro cash in Austria: What has changed, and what’s next?," Monetary Policy & the Economy, Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank), issue 19/Q1-Q2, pages 99-112.
    11. Cronin, David, 2021. "Whither Cash in Payments?," Quarterly Bulletin Articles, Central Bank of Ireland, pages 64-87, January.
    12. Alexandra Mitschke, 2021. "Central Bank Digital Currencies and Monetary Policy Effectiveness in the Euro Area," Working Papers Dissertations 74, Paderborn University, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics.
    13. Lalouette, Laure & Zamora-Pérez, Alejandro & Rusu, Codruta & Bartzsch, Nikolaus & Politronacci, Emmanuelle & Delmas, Martial & Rua, António & Brandi, Marco & Naksi, Martti, 2021. "Foreign demand for euro banknotes," Occasional Paper Series 253, European Central Bank.
    14. Bindseil, Ulrich, 2020. "Tiered CBDC and the financial system," Working Paper Series 2351, European Central Bank.
    15. Anton Schautzer & Helmut Stix, 2022. "Past and future development of euro cash in Austria – resilience in light of technological change and economic crises," Monetary Policy & the Economy, Oesterreichische Nationalbank (Austrian Central Bank), issue Q1-Q2/22, pages 21-46.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    banknote circulation; euro cash; payment behaviour; store of value;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • E41 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Demand for Money
    • E42 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Money and Interest Rates - - - Monetary Sytsems; Standards; Regimes; Government and the Monetary System

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