A video is circulating a video with statements from the Central Bank President of the European Central Bank (ECB), Christine Lagarde, who raises doubts about the future of physical money in Europe. But will the “euro digital” really replace the cash money from October 2025? The answer is more complex than it seems.
What the video says (and what you don’t say)
In a March 9 publication on Facebook, there is an alleged Lagarde statement to announce that the Digital Euro will take effect in October this year.
The video also suggests that the ECB will have full control over payments and can even block them or apply taxes automatically.
However, this content removes a statement made from the context at a press conference on March 6.
At the time, Lagarde was talking about a new reduction in interest rates and, in response to a question by a journalist about the impact of Donald Trump’s digital dollar suspension, said he expected the digital euro to “not be buried” and pointed out October 2025 as a deadline.
What is actually scheduled for October 2025?
The ECB clarified later, through an X (former Twitter) publication, that this date refers only to the end of the project preparatory phase, which began in November 2023.
The adoption of the digital euro is dependent on a legislative process involving the European Commission, the European Parliament and the European Union Council.
That is, the entry into force or the replacement of physical money at this time is not foreseen.
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Digital Euro will not replace physical money
The National Bank of Austria assured AFP that “the money in kind will not be eliminated.” It also stresses that “no one in the euro area is thinking of eliminating the money in kind.”
In fact, the ECB is preparing a new design for Euro notes, a sign that it continues to invest in the physical format of the currency.
In turn, a bank manager of France explained that the digital euro will serve to complement the existing money.
“We hope that the Digital Euro will be able to meet approximately the same needs as the money in kind, but in the digital space,” he said, quoted by AFP.
What is the digital euro anyway?
The digital euro is a proposal for the digital currency of the ECB, with the objective of monitoring the technological transition of the means of payment, while ensuring the monetary sovereignty of the European Union.
As with physical money, it intends to be an affordable, free, safe and inclusive payment method.
However, its development is far from completed and will still be the subject of tests, evaluations and public debates.
Thus, any advertisement on its definitive implementation or the elimination of physical money should be considered premature.
It is not the end of physical money
No, the digital euro will not replace physical money in October 2025.
Christine Lagarde’s video that circulates on social networks is real, but is being used outside its original context.
The president of the ECB herself made it clear that the advance of the digital euro depends on the European legislative process. For now, it is only a preparatory phase.
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