ProlepsisOpen in the graph →

Contemporary observation

Payments: cash is declining and central bank digital currencies are advancing

The headquarters of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, at dawn, in April 2015. The ECB is the body that measures the decline of cash in the euro area and prepares the digital euro.
Photo of the place The headquarters of the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, at dawn, in April 2015. The ECB is the body that measures the decline of cash in the euro area and prepares the digital euro. — Photo: DXR, Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

undetermined · Observation ≠ proven fulfilment

2016 → 2026-10-01 · Zone euro ; Suède ; Inde ; Chine ; monde

See the full entry: sources, objections, answers

What is reported

In the euro area, the share of cash in in-store payments (by number) fell from 79% in 2016 to 72% in 2019, 59% in 2022 and 52% in 2024; by value, from 42% to 39% between 2022 and 2024; 62% of consumers consider it important to keep the cash option (ECB, SPACE study, December 2024). In Sweden, 5% of respondents paid for their last purchase in cash (Riksbank, March 2026). In 2024, 85 of the 93 central banks surveyed by the BIS were studying a central bank digital currency. The digital euro has not been adopted: the European Parliament voted its position on 9 July 2026 (offline use, privacy protection), negotiations with the Council began on 13 July; the ECB aims for a pilot in 2027 and a possible first issuance in 2029, as a complement to cash. In India, the UPI instant payment system exceeded 800 million transactions a day in September 2026. By contrast, the digital rupee fell by 24% in circulation in one year (March 2026).

Main objection (in French for now)

Cash remains the leading means of payment in stores in the euro area (52%), and a growing majority want to keep it (62%).

The text (World English Bible)

Then I stood on the sand of the sea. I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads. On his horns were ten crowns, and on his heads, blasphemous names. The beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority. One of his heads looked like it had been wounded fatally. His fatal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled at the beast. They worshiped the dragon because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” A mouth speaking great things and bla…

Rev 13:1-7

Sources