Luxembourg's Finance Minister Gilles Roth reaffirmed the irreplaceable role of cash following the European Central Bank's digital euro debut, highlighting the balance between innovation and tradition in the financial sector.

On Monday, the European Central Bank (ECB) officially announced the introduction of the digital euro, an electronic equivalent to cash. Following the announcement, Finance Minister Gilles Roth assured lawmakers in the Chamber of Deputies that the right to use cash remains out of question. The politician from the Christian Social People's Party (CSV) further argued that the introduction of the digital currency was the "right decision".

"The digital euro, the rate of which is exactly the same as the regular euro, is complementary. There is no intention to replace anything", Roth stated.

The finance minister also mentioned that since June last year, an EU regulation protects the right to use cash for payments and that Luxembourg has a total of 535 cash points, which puts the country above the Eurozone average. The minister also cited a 2022 study carried out by the Luxembourgi Central Bank, which found that 59% of transactions are made with cash and more than a third of Luxembourg residents keep cash on reserve at home. However, the study acknowledged that it is unclear to what extent the Covid-19 pandemic impacted these habits.