On paper, Europe still looks like a cash continent. In 2024, cash was used for 52% of point-of-sale transactions (down from 59% in 2022). But the direction of travel is clear: online payments rose to 21% of day-to-day payments by number and 36% by value (up from 17% and 28% in 2022). Europe’s payments habits are becoming more digital — and more dependent on whoever runs the pipes.
That is why the European Parliament’s latest nod to a digital euro that works both online and offline matters. On February 10, 2026, lawmakers approved amendments to a resolution on the ECB’s 2025 annual report backing a dual-mode digital euro — a shift away from earlier “offline-only” thinking and closer to what the ECB and EU governments want.
