Key Takeaways
- An ECB survey found crypto acceptance at European businesses is under 1%, while cash dominates at 92%.
- Low crypto adoption means EU businesses miss out on reduced transaction fees and fewer middlemen.
- Despite MiCA regulations offering clarity, EU payment firms are slow to build crypto solutions.
ECB Use of Cash Survey Reveals Low Cryptocurrency Adoption
The latest survey of the European Central Bank (ECB) on the use of cash by companies in the euro area has offered an insight into the low level of crypto adoption in the region.
The survey, which included 8,205 companies in all Euro area countries, seeks to determine the standing of cash among other more modern payment options. The results indicate that physical money is the most widely adopted payment option across Europe, with cash being accepted at 92% of the companies selling goods and services at physical locations.
Cash surpassed even cards, which ranked second with 88% acceptance, while mobile payments rose from 36% in 2024 to 68% in 2026.
The rise of digital payments and their promotion in purchase automation systems such as self-checkout terminals were identified as issues that might reduce the ease of paying with cash.
“To ensure widespread cash acceptance, it is crucial to ensure that the increasing automation of payments does not inadvertently hinder or undermine cash as a viable payment option,” the bank stressed.
Digital currencies appear as a rounding error in the survey, as the bank revealed that only 0.2% of the businesses surveyed accepted crypto or stablecoins as payment methods for online purchases. This number rises to 1% among companies using a physical point of sale, still well below the adoption of these in emerging markets.
This shows that even as a majority of financial institutions recognize there is a business case for digital assets, cutting middlemen and reducing transaction fees, they have been slow to implement digital asset systems to leverage their advantages
European payment processors have consequently failed to capitalize on the regulatory momentum after the full implementation of the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) framework.
Mark Aruliah, Elliptic’s Head of EMEA Policy & Regulatory Affairs, stressed that with MiCA in place, payment processors “can confidently develop compliant crypto payment solutions tailored to the European market,” even facing limitations that will be addressed in the future.
