decent majority in order punish a misbehaving minority would be like cracking a nut with a sledgehammer – and breaking the table it is on in the process. finally, the fintech alliance promises that, with its innovative digital - payment solutions, it can ease the conduct of financial transactions. customers would no longer need to carry wads of cash or search for atms. but it is an open question whether the still highly fragmented digital - payment sector will help customers more than the companies offering the payment solutions. there is one more major problem with the arguments for a cashless society : most people, at least in the eurozone, don ’ t want it. according to an as - yet - unpublished european central bank survey of 65, 000 eurozone residents, almost 80 % of all point - of - sale transactions are conducted in cash ; and, in terms of value, more than half of payments are made in cash. as is often the case in europe, the differences among member states are pronounced : the share of cash transactions ranges from 42 % in finland to 92 % in malta. but, overall, the public ’ s commitment to cash remains strong – and is becoming stronger. 1 / 2 bis central bankers'speeches in fact, growth in overall demand for cash is outpacing nominal gdp growth. in the last five years, the average annual growth rate of euro banknotes was 4. 9 % by value and 6. 2 % by piece. this rise includes denominations that are predominantly used for transactions, rather than for savings. these findings confirm the appropriateness of the ecb ’ s neutral stance on payments, which allows for both cash and cashless payments. this approach is based on four principles : technological safety, ( 2 ) efficiency, ( 3 ) technological neutrality, and ( 4 ) freedom of choice for users of the respective means of payments. the ecb ’ s supreme objective is to ensure price stability. to support that objective, it supplies safe central - bank liquidity, in the form of both bank - held central - bank reserves and banknotes ( the latter being the sole notes with the status of legal tender in eurozone ). if europe were to abolish cash, it would cut off people ’ s only direct link to central - bank money. in a democracy, such a link helps to foster public acceptance of central - bank independence, by reinforcing the trust and support of the people in the conduct of effective monetary policymaking. the

##notes : understanding the demand for cash beyond transactional use ”, economic bulletin, issue 2, ecb, frankfurt am main. 7. persons aged 15 +. see world bank ( 2018 ), “ the little data book on financial inclusion 2018 ”, world bank, washington, d. c. 8. while some unbanked adults may rely on a member of their household to use electronic payment instruments that need a bank account, this limits their independent access to financial resources and further increases the importance of cash to them. 9. euro banknotes have embedded visual and haptic security features. 10. alvarez, f. and argente, d. ( 2020 ), “ consumer surplus of alternative payment methods : paying uber with cash ”, nber working paper series, no 28133, november. 11. alvarez, f., argente, d., jimenez, t. and lippi, f. ( 2021 ), “ cash : a blessing or a curse ”, mimeo. 12. rogoff, k. ( 2016 ), the curse of cash, princeton university press. 13. the ecb discontinued the production and issuance of €500 banknotes in 2019, although existing €500 banknotes are still legal tender and can therefore continue to be used and will always retain their value. 14. kahn, c. m., mcandrews, j. and roberds, w. ( 2005 ), “ money is privacy ”, international economic review, vol. 46, no 2, may, pp. 377 - 399. 15. acquisiti, a., taylor, c. and wagman, l. ( 2016 ), “ the economics of privacy ”, journal of economic literature, vol. 54, no 2, june, pp. 442 - 492. 16. see “ mandate of the erpb working group on access and acceptance of cash ”. 17. see ecb ( 2021 ), “ eurosystem report on the public consultation on a digital euro ”, april.