Three notions to tell apart
MAP’s earmarkable digital euro, the bank deposit and the Eurosystem’s digital euro are regularly confused. Each has its issuer, its regime and its effects. This page describes what each one is, with the official sources.
Vocabulary
- Earmarkable digital euro
- MAP’s product: electronic money backed by the euro, one for one, whose use is decided before the payment. A private offer, issued by an authorised electronic money institution.
- Bank deposit
- A claim on a bank, recorded in an account. The funds remain at the free disposal of the holder.
- The Eurosystem’s digital euro
- A central bank money project, carried by the European Central Bank and the national central banks. It is at project stage.
- Earmarking
- Attaching rules of use to a budget: who, when, how much, where and what for.
The objects compared
| Criterion | Earmarkable digital euro (MAP) | Bank deposit | The Eurosystem’s digital euro |
|---|---|---|---|
| Issuer | An authorised electronic money institution. | A credit institution. | A central bank, within the Eurosystem’s project. |
| Nature | Electronic money issued in exchange for funds, allocated to a digital euro account. | A claim on the bank, recorded in an account. | Central bank money, at project stage. |
| Value over time | Equal to the funds handed over, one for one, redeemable at par value. | The balance may earn interest depending on the product. | A question belonging to the Eurosystem’s project. |
| Safeguarding of funds | Funds kept in a dedicated account at BNP Paribas, in accordance with Article L. 522-17 of the French Monetary and Financial Code. | Deposit guarantee, under the conditions of the guarantee scheme. | A liability of the central bank, within the project. |
| Rules of use | The digital euro account defines them before the payment, with the agreement of the parties concerned. | Funds at the free disposal of the holder. | The ECB states that its project would leave the holder free to use their funds. |
| Status | A private offer, in service on what is documented. | An existing banking product. | A project under way. |
Who issues what
- MAP
- Issues the earmarkable digital euro in exchange for funds, applies the digital euro account’s rules and records every payment on the blockchain. MAP is an electronic money institution authorised by the ACPR.
- A bank
- Takes deposits, keeps the accounts and grants credit. It leaves the funds deposited at the free disposal of their holders.
- A central bank
- Issues central bank money, within its public remit. The offer described on this site is a private offer, issued by Mon Ami Poto SAS.
What earmarkable means
Rule: food support
- Who
- Enrolled households
- How much
- €600.00 per household
- Where
- Food suppliers in the chosen area
- When
- For three months
- Grocery in the area€42.30Accepted
- Electronics shop€89.00Refused Reason: supplier category outside the rule
All three objects are electronic, settle in euros and travel through interfaces that look alike. The difference lies in who issues them, which regime applies and what is attached to the funds. An earmarkable digital euro carries rules of use, because a private digital euro account has defined them. A bank deposit leaves the funds at the free disposal of the holder. The ECB presents its project as money that leaves the holder free to use their funds.
The rules are decided by the funder of the digital euro account, within the contractual framework agreed with MAP and accepted by the users. Item-by-item control requires an integration and suitable data. The rules available and what each one checks are detailed on the reference page Earmarking.
Scope of this page
What this page establishes
The legal characterisation of an instrument is assessed on the actual product, on the basis of its features and its issuer. MAP’s earmarkable digital euro is electronic money, issued by an authorised institution. A currency name specific to a digital euro account is a name in use; the legal characterisation rests on the issuer and the regime that applies. A complementary local currency in the legal sense meets conditions of its own, described on the Local currency page.
Sources
A comparison article. Last reviewed: 11 September 2026. Sources: ECB, frequently asked questions on the digital euro; ACPR, framework applicable to electronic money institutions. Consult their current version. For the entity’s framework, see Regulatory framework.
Three objects side by side, read from top to bottom: MAP, an authorised institution, issues the earmarkable digital euro in exchange for funds, electronic money backed by the euro one for one, with funds kept in a dedicated account at BNP Paribas and digital euro account rules checked before the payment; a bank takes the bank deposit, a claim recorded in an account and covered by the deposit guarantee, at the free disposal of the holder; the Eurosystem carries the digital euro project, central bank money at project stage and a liability of the central bank, which the ECB states would leave the holder free to use their funds.