The European Central Bank has received a detailed snapshot of how two critical user groups think about a future digital euro. A qualitative study by Ipsos, commissioned as part of the ECB two year preparation phase launched in November 2023, gathered views from small merchants and vulnerable consumers in all 20 euro area countries in December 2024.
Through 40 online focus groups with around 160 small merchants and 160 in depth interviews with vulnerable consumers, the research explored current payment habits, pain points and expectations for new payment methods. While not statistically representative, the findings offer rich signals on what could make or break adoption of a digital euro. The headline message is clear: people want a solution that is simple, low cost, reliable and embedded in existing behaviours.
What merchants and vulnerable consumers are really asking for
Small merchants already juggle multiple payment options, from cards and cash to mobile wallets and bank transfers, mainly to follow customer preferences and avoid lost sales. Their main complaints are familiar: high fees for card and wallet payments, POS rental and maintenance costs, network outages at the point of sale and delays before funds reach their account.
Against this backdrop, three digital euro features resonated strongly. First, offline functionality, presented as a way to keep accepting payments during network or power outages, was rated very or fairly important by 84 percent of merchants with a physical shop and was seen as a safety net, especially in rural areas. Second, lower costs and greater bargaining power were attractive, with 82 percent rating cost reduction as important and viewing the digital euro as leverage in negotiations with payment service providers. Third, instant settlement appealed to 79 percent, who linked faster availability of funds directly to better cash flow and lower administrative overhead.
Vulnerable consumers, meanwhile, use a mix of debit or credit cards, cash and mobile wallets, and value security, ease of use, reliability and control across all methods. Their pain points include fears of theft and fraud, occasional refusals of cash or cards, technical failures at checkout and difficulty tracking spending with digital tools, particularly for older or less digitally skilled users.
When describing an ideal new payment method, these consumers asked for universal merchant acceptance, euro area wide usability, offline capability in case of poor connectivity and clear onboarding support, preferably face to face at banks and through simple written instructions. They showed a clear preference for established banks or public bodies as providers, citing higher trust in European institutions and regulatory protections.
Design and policy implications for the digital euro
Taken together, the findings suggest that the digital euro will gain traction only if it solves concrete, day to day frictions rather than selling abstract innovation. For merchants, that means credible prospects of lower overall payment acceptance costs, shorter settlement times and robust offline acceptance integrated into existing terminals or smartphones, not a separate, complex set up.
For vulnerable consumers, the research underlines that usability and support may matter more than purely technical features. A digital euro that is simple to set up, easy to read and navigate, and supported by strong fraud protections could address many of their concerns. Conversely, complex onboarding or poor app design risks reinforcing dependence on family members or intermediaries and could slow adoption.
Trust emerges as a cross cutting theme. Both groups react positively to the idea that the digital euro would be issued by the ECB and distributed through trusted banks and European payment providers, which they associate with higher security and consumer protection. At the same time, merchants and vulnerable users alike ask for clearer information on how the system will work in practice, how it will fit into their business or household budgets and which safeguards will apply.
The study also highlights a communication challenge. Awareness of the digital euro itself remains low, and many respondents struggled to imagine benefits beyond what they already use. That implies the ECB and legislators will need not only to design user centric features, but also to translate them into simple narratives, such as digital cash that works even when the internet does not or a European way to pay that limits fees and keeps money under public oversight.
Finally, policymakers should treat these results as directional rather than definitive. The research is qualitative and non representative, yet it provides an important reality check: if the digital euro is to succeed, it must be built around offline resilience, low and transparent costs, intuitive interfaces and strong institutional trust. As the Eurosystem continues technical work alongside ongoing legislative negotiations, those user signals are likely to shape decisions on functionality, distribution models and safeguards for years to come.