Build the account link before anyone sets the holding cap

The digital euro is still a proposal, not an adopted rule. The Council set its position on 19 December 2025 and the European Parliament set its position on 9 July 2026. Those texts are now in trilogue with the Commission. The ECB expects the regulation by the end of 2026, but its Governing Council will not decide whether to issue a digital euro until that law exists. If the regulation is adopted by then, the Eurosystem aims to be ready for a first issuance during 2029.

For banks, the practical issue is the holding limit. Under the ECB’s design choices, a person could hold only a limited amount of digital euro, and those holdings would pay no interest. A user could link the digital euro account to a bank account. That link would cover a shortfall or an overflow at once, so a payment could still go through above the cap without the user clearing the balance first. The euro amount of the cap is not set. Co-legislators asked the ECB to test hypothetical limits of up to €3,000 per person. The ECB’s analysis found that day-to-day use at those test levels would not harm financial stability in the euro area, even in a highly unlikely and extremely conservative crisis scenario. That figure is a test case, not a ceiling.

Credit institutions should prepare for a cap and for an instant link to a commercial account. They should not lock deposit or liquidity models to €3,000. Who sets the limit, and at what level, still depends on the regulation. The scheme rulebook will be completed only after that regulation is adopted, and the final design will have to follow the adopted text.

ECB, FAQs on the digital euro, updated 17 August 2026