Cryptocurrency remains a fringe payment option for businesses across the euro area, with just 0.2% of online merchants accepting digital assets, according to a new European Central Bank survey that underscores the persistent gap between crypto’s public visibility and its real-world utility at the checkout.
The findings, drawn from interviews with 8,205 businesses across all 21 euro area countries, paint a picture of a commercial landscape where cash still reigns supreme and mobile payments are surging ahead, while crypto and stablecoins have failed to gain meaningful traction among merchants. Market research firm Ipsos conducted the telephone interviews between Feb. 23 and April 10.
The survey covered retailers, restaurants and cafes, hotels, and arts, entertainment, and recreation venues. The results arrive as the ECB continues work on a digital euro, a central bank digital currency designed to complement cash and preserve the euro’s role in everyday payments.
Cash Holds Firm as Mobile Payments Surge
At physical points of sale, cash remained the most widely accepted payment method, with 92% of companies taking it in 2026, up slightly from 90% in 2024. Physical card acceptance also edged higher, rising to 88% from 87% over the same period.
Mobile payments recorded the largest shift among all payment instruments. Acceptance at physical locations climbed to 68% in 2026 from 36% in 2024, reflecting the rapid adoption of instant payments and digital wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay. The ECB noted that this rise is consistent with how consumers increasingly transact in-store.
Bank checks, by contrast, showed a notable decline, with acceptance falling to 27% from 36%.
Payment Method2024 Acceptance2026 AcceptanceCash90%92%Physical cards87%88%Mobile payments36%68%Crypto assets and stablecoinsBelow 1%Below 1%Bank checks36%27%
Note: Figures reflect acceptance rates at physical points of sale across the euro area, based on the ECB survey of 8,205 businesses.
Crypto assets and stablecoins showed virtually no momentum at physical locations, remaining below 1% acceptance in both 2024 and 2026. The ECB’s survey asked businesses whether they accept crypto assets or stablecoins, citing Bitcoin, Ether, and Tether’s USDt as examples to anchor responses.
Consumer preference emerged as the leading factor when businesses decide which payment methods to support, cited by 26% of respondents. Security followed at 22%, while ease of handling came in at 15%.
The survey also shed light on why some businesses reject cash. Among companies that do not accept cash, weak customer demand was the most common explanation at 36%, followed by difficulties related to depositing or withdrawing cash at 35%. Security concerns were mentioned by 29% of respondents.
While these responses relate specifically to cash, they help explain the broader merchant calculus: adoption tends to follow customer behavior and operational simplicity, with security and reliability shaping the risk assessment.
Merchant attitudes toward cash also vary widely across countries. The ECB reports that 51% of cash-accepting small and medium-sized enterprises in Cyprus said they may stop accepting cash, compared with 23% in Greece and 18% in Bulgaria.
The Definition Problem
A practical measurement issue complicates the crypto acceptance figures. Some crypto payment services allow merchants to receive settlement in traditional currency even when customers pay with crypto. The ECB survey does not specify whether businesses should treat these arrangements as accepting crypto, leaving grey areas in how responses were classified.
When asked whether such conversions could affect reporting consistency and whether regulatory uncertainty could influence how firms answer, the ECB said it preferred not to speculate. The central bank also clarified that it does not set payment regulation, pointing to the European Commission and national lawmakers as the relevant authorities.
That distinction matters for interpreting the data. Low acceptance rates could reflect both limited demand and constraints tied to how payments are operationalized and classified, especially in a regulatory environment where businesses may still be cautious about compliance or reporting obligations.
The ECB’s crypto findings arrive as the institution advances its work on a digital euro. Earlier coverage noted the ECB is progressing on accessibility for payment providers as part of that broader CBDC effort. Yet the merchant data points to a more immediate reality: even as mobile payments accelerate and digital channels expand, crypto and stablecoins have not crossed the threshold into mainstream acceptance for most euro area businesses.
For investors and industry participants, the survey establishes a low baseline for payment adoption in the region. The next watch should be whether mobile payment growth continues to crowd out alternatives, and whether future regulatory clarity or new payment rails using tokenized settlement changes how businesses decide what to accept.