The ECB’s public survey to pick new euro banknote designs signals a forthcoming redesign that will affect currency printers and cash‑handling systems across the eurozone
Executive summary: The ECB launched an online survey allowing the public to select the design for the next series of euro banknotes, with voting open until 21 September 2026 and ten candidate themes featuring portraits, birds and landscapes. A new banknote series will require eurozone printers to produce new plates, cash‑handling vendors to update recognition software, and retailers to adapt cash‑processing equipment, generating measurable costs in the currency‑production sector.
Who is involved: European Central Bank (ECB), eurozone national central banks, secure‑printing firms such as Oberthur Fiduciaire, Giesecke+Devrient and De La Rue, and the general public participating in the vote.
Likely next: After the survey closes, the ECB’s Governing Council will review the results and announce the winning design, expected to be finalised by Q1 2027 with first notes entering circulation later that year.
The European Central Bank has opened a vote running until 21 September 2026 that lets citizens choose among ten proposed motifs ranging from historic figures such as Cervantes and Curie to birds and landscapes. The outcome will determine the visual theme of the next euro banknote series, triggering updates to printing plates, authentication software and cash‑processing equipment used by banks and retailers. While the change is largely symbolic, it carries concrete costs for the secure‑printing supply chain and may influence public attitudes toward cash versus digital payments.
Timeline
- — De Cervantes a Curie o Da Vinci: el BCE lanza una encuesta para elegir los nuevos billetes del euro (El País — Economía)
- — Pétrole à 100 dollars : la BCE redoute une hausse de l’inflation (Le Figaro — Économie)
- — BCE : une hausse des taux a été envisagée par «certains gouverneurs», selon Christine Lagarde (Le Figaro — Économie)
- — El Gobierno respalda a De Cos como el candidato español a presidir el BCE (Expansión)
- — Changement climatique : pourquoi la BCE refuse de créer un taux d’intérêt réduit pour les investissements verts (Le Monde — Économie)
- — Así conectó ideas Da Vinci para crear valor (Expansión)
Analysis — what this means
Likely next events
- Survey voting ends on 21 September 2026.
- ECB Governing Council to announce selected design by Q1 2027.
- First new euro banknotes expected to enter circulation in late 2027.
Sectors affected
- Currency printing (e.g., Oberthur Fiduciaire, Giesecke+Devrient, De La Rue)
- Cash‑handling and authentication equipment manufacturers
- Retail cash‑processing software providers
Regulatory implications
- ECB Governing Council must approve the final banknote design before production can begin.
- Eurozone national central banks will coordinate the distribution and withdrawal of existing notes.
- The redesign triggers updates to the European Central Bank’s counterfeit‑detection framework.
Historical parallels
- First euro banknote series introduced in 2002.
- Second 'Europa' series launched in 2013 featuring updated security features and portraits.
Key entities
Sources
Open the full interactive case file on Beyond →
INTELLIGENCE
Social Pulse
AI estimate · not scraped