The Digital Euro Arrives by 2029: Will Macedonians Get to Use It - and Who Will Be Watching It?

The European Union has entered the final stage of rolling out the digital euro, which is set to become reality by 2029. And while it sounds like a topic reserved for the eurozone, the question is directly relevant to us too - will Macedonians be able to use it?

The digital euro is a digital version of the existing currency, issued and guaranteed by the European Central Bank. It isn't coming to replace cash and banks, but to complement them. The goal is clearer than it looks - to reduce Europe's dependence on foreign, mainly American payment systems, which today dominate over 60 percent of card transactions.

For Macedonia, they say, adoption is „practically inevitable". Domestic banks will most likely become the intermediaries through which citizens access digital wallets via mobile apps. The benefits would be tangible: faster and cheaper international transactions, simpler payment when traveling, quicker money transfers from abroad, and lower costs for export companies.

In parallel, Macedonia has also been mulling its own digital denar. In 2024 the prime minister called it „just an idea for now", though with optimism that the country could lead in the region, while the National Bank began a preliminary analysis back in 2022.

The question that remains is the one always hiding behind technological progress: who will control the data? Digital money also means a digital trail for every coffee bought. The convenience is real, but so is the risk of total surveillance. Before we run after the new currency, it's worth asking - who will be watching it while we pay?