Long live cash, at least according to European Central Bank executive board member Yves Mersch.

In a speech hosted by Deutsche Bundesbank in Frankfurt, Germany, yesterday, Mersch noted that although cards and mobile payments are seeing plenty of proliferation across Europe, there is still no “viable alternative [to cash].”

He said:

Printed euro banknotes will retain their place and their role in society as legal tender for a very long time to come. There is no viable alternative to euro cash. There is good reason to believe that banknotes don’t only have to take the form of printed paper, cotton or polymer…. Alternative payment methods cannot replace euro cash – they can only complement it. The euro system must therefore continue to ensure the existence of euro cash. This is the only way we can safeguard the role that euro banknotes and coins play in protecting the fundamental rights and freedoms of the people of Europe.

Read more on Finextra and ComputerWorld.

To learn more about fintech and payments, join us on March 5-6, 2018 at the Parc 55 in San Francisco for Bank Innovation 2018. Click here to register.