Arte: Does Europe still need cash?

Sweden led the drive towards a cashless society, but it is now backpedalling, passing a law encouraging shops to accept cash. The rush to embrace cards has made Europe dependent on payment systems like Visa and Mastercard – and vulnerable to political attacks. So do we need to go back to cash – or could a digital euro be the answer?

This programme is produced by the European platform ARTE and available in 10 languages through the European media partnership BEAM. The hub is coordinated by ARTE and includes Balkan Insight (BIRN), Sinopsis (BIRN Romania), El País (ES), Gazeta Wyborcza (PL), Internazionale (IT), Ir, (LV), Kathimerini (GR), Le Soir (BE) and Telex (HU). The partnership receives EU-funding following DG CNECT’s call for European Media Hubs within the framework of the EU’s Multimedia Actions.