Understanding electronic money
Electronic money is a precise object, defined by financial regulation. It is the material of MAP’s earmarkable digital euro. This page gives its vocabulary, its actors and its life cycle, so that the rest of the site can be read without ambiguity.
Definition. Electronic money is monetary value stored in electronic form. It is issued in exchange for funds. It is accepted as a means of payment by persons other than its issuer. Three elements are therefore needed: funds received, value issued, acceptance by third parties.
Why it is the right material for an earmarked budget. The value issued is backed by the euro, one for one, and lives in a system that its issuer operates. That is what makes it possible to attach rules of use decided before the payment, then to record every payment on a tamper-proof blockchain. A bank transfer, by contrast, leaves the funds at the free disposal of whoever receives them: once it has gone, it has gone.
Who issues it. An electronic money institution authorised and supervised by a public authority. The value issued is redeemable at par value, and the funds received in exchange are protected by a safeguarding mechanism specific to that regime. The offer described on this site is a private offer, issued by Mon Ami Poto SAS.
The actors
| Actor | What they do |
|---|---|
| Issuer | The institution authorised to issue electronic money in exchange for funds. In a MAP digital euro account, that is MAP. |
| Distributor | Where applicable, the party that distributes it on behalf of the issuer. |
| Holder | The party that holds the value issued and has a right to redemption. In a MAP digital euro account, that is the user. |
| Supplier | The party that accepts it in payment for a good or a service, and takes the payment. |
| Supervisory authority | The authority that authorises the institution and supervises its activity. In France, the ACPR. |
The life cycle
- 01 Funds handed over Funds in euros are handed over to the issuer. That step is what triggers the issuance.
- 02 Issuance The issuer creates the electronic money up to the funds received, one for one.
- 03 Use The holder pays suppliers that accept it, with the instruments provided for.
- 04 Redemption The holder can obtain conversion back into euros, under the conditions provided for.
Electronic money and bank deposit
| Criterion | Electronic money | Bank deposit |
|---|---|---|
| Issuer | An authorised electronic money institution. | A credit institution. |
| Nature | Value issued in exchange for funds, at parity with the euro. | A claim on the bank, recorded in an account. |
| 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. |
| Safeguarding of funds | The funds received are kept apart from the institution’s own funds, under a safeguarding mechanism required by regulation. | Deposit guarantee, under the conditions of the guarantee scheme. |
| Redemption | A right to redemption, under the conditions set out in the contract. | Withdrawal or transfer of the sums recorded in the account. |
- Funds kept apart
- The funds handed over in exchange for issuance are kept apart from the institution’s operating funds. Regulation requires methods intended to preserve them.
- What that mechanism is
- A regime specific to electronic money, defined by regulation: the funds received are preserved by being kept apart. The arrangement adopted by an institution is set out in its documentation.
- What authorisation attests
- That an institution is authorised to carry on a defined activity. And that its authority supervises it, on its governance, its risks and the safeguarding of funds.
An example
A foundation wants to fund school equipment for fifty families. It transfers €10,000.00 to the digital euro account. MAP issues €10,000.00 of earmarkable digital euro, one for one, and allocates it to the digital euro account.
The foundation sets the rules before the first payment: €200.00 per family, at suppliers of school supplies and equipment. In France, from 15 August to 30 September, with no cash withdrawal. Each family receives an account and means of payment, activated immediately.
One family pays €48.50 at a selected supplier. The operation is checked before execution, authorised, then settled: the payment is recorded on the blockchain with its amount, its supplier, its date and the rule applied. The foundation sees it in real time. An attempted payment on 5 October would be refused, with its reason: outside the period.
At the closure of the digital euro account, amounts left unused are treated under the conditions of the contract. An end date for use and the right to redeem the electronic money are two distinct questions.
Sources and next steps
A general explanatory article. Last reviewed: 11 September 2026. It describes the general framework applicable to electronic money; the documentation of each digital euro account states how it applies. For the MAP service, see Electronic money; for the entity’s framework, see Regulatory framework.