A new working paper from the Bank for International Settlements indicates that consumer demand for a digital euro could be significantly higher than earlier estimates. The study, released in November 2025 and based on survey data from Austria, finds that around 45 percent of consumers would be willing to adopt a realistically designed digital euro.
Authored by Helmut Elsinger, Helmut Stix, and Martin Summer, the paper titled Consumer preferences for a digital euro: insights from a discrete choice experiment in Austria is the first European study to quantify consumer trade-offs across specific digital euro design features. The results feed directly into ongoing policy discussions at the European Central Bank and the European Commission on privacy, security, offline payments, and pricing.
Security is the dominant adoption driver
The study finds that security, particularly protection against financial loss, is the most important factor influencing adoption. Reducing consumer liability from full loss, similar to losing cash, to a capped loss of 250 euros increased adoption probability by 12 percentage points. Full loss protection raised adoption likelihood by 23 percentage points.
Privacy, while central to political and public debate, showed only a limited average effect. Consumers displayed near indifference between the privacy models tested unless monetary incentives were offered. However, around one third of respondents identified as privacy sensitive and were significantly less willing to accept trade-offs.
Financial incentives boost uptake
Cost incentives emerged as another strong lever. Monthly savings of 5 or 10 euros materially increased adoption probability. A 10 euro monthly benefit alone raised expected uptake by roughly eight percentage points, suggesting that visible financial advantages could accelerate early adoption.
Limited impact from offline payments and form factor
Offline functionality increased adoption by only four percentage points, pointing to relatively modest consumer demand despite its relevance for resilience and inclusion. Respondents showed a slight preference for a card-based digital euro over a mobile app, consistent with Austria’s established card payment culture.
Who is most likely to adopt
Adoption intent was highest among younger, better-educated, and financially risk-tolerant consumers. Trust in the central bank was particularly influential. Respondents with high trust in the ECB were 15 percentage points more likely to choose a digital euro.
Cash users were not uniformly opposed. While many showed low interest, a distinct subgroup, younger, tech-oriented, and dissatisfied with cash acceptance, displayed strong adoption intent.
Implications for policymakers
The BIS findings suggest that a digital euro could achieve early traction if it delivers strong security guarantees and clear economic benefits. The results also indicate that privacy concerns, while politically salient, may not represent the primary adoption barrier for most citizens, except for a smaller, highly privacy-focused segment.
As the ECB advances its preparation phase and the European Commission finalizes its legislative framework, the study offers concrete guidance on which design features are most likely to maximize public uptake.