ECB tells banks to prep for crisis and guarantee cash access

The ECB is telling banks and lenders across Europe to stop pretending everything’s fine and start prepping for the next crisis… now. In a paper released Wednesday, the central bank said cash access must be guaranteed no matter what kind of chaos hits. They weren’t vague about it either.

The ECB said cash becomes way more important the moment things fall apart, whether it’s a power grid failure, pandemic, or tech blackout.

Two of the economists behind the paper, Francesca Faella and Alejandro Zamora-Pérez, looked at real events like the COVID lockdowns and the 2025 blackout that knocked out parts of Spain and Portugal, and said it’s time the entire financial system, public and private, keeps solid stockpiles of banknotes and bulletproof backup plans to move them fast. Faella and Alejandro didn’t hold back. They said it’s about making the system “efficient and robust.” Full stop.

ECB wants households to hold cash for three days

Here’s the part most people are going to ignore until it’s too late: the ECB is now supporting recommendations for every household in Europe to keep at least €70 to €100 in physical cash per person. That money is meant to cover basic stuff; food, gas, meds—for three days in case all digital systems go down. That just happened in Finland, which is now testing what they call “disruption-proof” ATMs.

And yeah, this is happening while the ECB pushes its digital euro. That contradiction isn’t going unnoticed. There are fewer ATMs and bank branches across the region, even as the central bank insists people will still have “payment freedom.” The reality looks different, and people are worried.

The paper makes it clear: physical money is more than old tech. It keeps the system running when digital fails. “Physical currency not only serves to meet individual needs but also contributes to broader systemic resilience,” the ECB said.

That warning dropped just as new trade tariffs are making everything worse. European households aren’t happy, and the numbers prove it. The ECB’s June 2025 Consumer Expectations Survey shows that 40% of people think tariffs will push prices up. Another 13% believe the tariffs will mess with their personal finances. And 24% think the whole economy’s going to slow down.

Tariffs make people ditch US products and cut spending

People who think tariffs will make inflation worse aren’t just guessing. They’ve raised their expectations for how bad prices will get, which is by 0.2 points for the next year, 0.13 for the next three years, and 0.06 for the next five.

When it comes to growth, the group that sees tariffs as bad for the economy cut their growth outlook by 0.4 points for the next 12 months. The rest of the survey group? Only a 0.2-point drop. Households are clearly bracing for slower times ahead.

The shifts aren’t just mental. They’re spending less. Around 26% said they’re now avoiding U.S. products completely. And 16% said they’re just buying less, period. Richer households are ditching American goods, and poorer ones are cutting across the board, and there’s a clear gap between people who understand finances and those who don’t, said the ECB. Respondents with better financial literacy are more likely to swap products. Others just stop spending altogether. That’s not theory. That’s from Baumann and crew’s follow-up survey in June.

And if you’re wondering where people are cutting back, it’s all in the non-essentials. Travel. Electronics. Dining out. Stuff they can live without. Spending on necessities like food or rent hasn’t really changed. It’s the extras that got slashed.

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