ECB news and archive

Germany's payment landscape shifts: Cashless transactions lead, but cash remains popular

Frankfurt - Card and smartphone are replacing notes and coins. Consumers in Germany made their daily purchases more frequently without cash last year, a representative study by the Bundesbank has revealed. Cash was still by far the most used payment method in Germany in 2025, but for the first time since the central bank's initial analysis in...

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Rising competition from China creates employment problems, according to the ECB

According to a recent study by the European Central Bank (ECB), trade tensions with the US, leading China to export more to the Eurozone, may cause problems. This could lead to fewer job opportunities for Europeans and increased unemployment. The study, by ECB senior economists Clémence Berson, Claudia Foroni, Vanessa Gunnella and Laura...

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ECB launches real-time payments in challenge to tech giants

The European Central Bank will on Friday unveil the first pan-eurozone instant payment service, hoping to become a dominant player in a field crowded by US and Asian tech giants. The so-called TIPS system will allow consumers and businesses across the 19-nation euro area to send and receive money in mere seconds, without the usual lags...