My income arrives, most of the time, as USDC on Ethereum mainnet. From there, I swap and bridge it to EURC on Base using Jumper. The cost? Pennies. Gas on mainnet is roughly a dollar, slippage is tiny, and the routes are extremely efficient and fast most of the time. Once I’m holding EURC on Base, I send it to Fluidkey and off-ramp at a strict 1:1 conversion with zero fees. That’s the entire pipeline. Any EURC I decide to keep on Fluidkey even auto-earns yield, which, while not the purpose of the setup, is a nice bonus.

To put real numbers behind it: swapping 10,000 USDC through Jumper consistently returns around 8,594.8 EURC*. The entire onchain cost is essentially negligible, under one dollar, or at most two. On a centralized exchange, however, the experience is very different. Kraken Pro may show a similar initial quote (around 8,596 EUR*), but that figure is before fees and slippage. After execution, you typically lose about $20 in trading fees, another €1 on the withdrawal, and often receive a slightly worse fill than the preview. The final amount that actually lands in your bank account is noticeably lower.

With the onchain approach, I consistently keep 15–20 EUR more per $10k offramped. And most of the time, the whole process is faster and smoother as well.

If anyone in the EU has discovered an offramp workflow that beats this in UX, speed, cost, or net EUR delivered, I’d love to try it.

Among these options is Monerium, which issues the Monerium Euro Stablecoin (EURe).

Although EURe’s market cap is still about ten times lower than EURC’s, its user-friendly design made it a compelling choice to test both personally and professionally.

What is EURe, How Does it Work, and Is it Compliant?

Before testing real use cases, let’s understand what EURe actually is.

EURe is a euro-pegged stablecoin issued by Monerium, a company that also issues GBPe (UK stablecoin), USDe, and ISKe (Icelandic krona-pegged stablecoin, unsurprising given that the company is incorporated in Iceland). EURe is by far the most promoted and popular among their offerings.

Without diving too deep into technical details (I’ll leave that to the developers), here’s how it works from a user perspective:

You open an account in the Monerium app, connect your wallet, and complete KYC (or KYB if you’re a business). This creates your IBAN. Once you have your IBAN, you can send euros to it and they will be instantly converted into e-tokens (EURe) at a 1:1 ratio. You can also send the funds back to your own or another IBAN, again at a 1:1 ratio.

While your funds are on-chain, you can swap your EURe, use it on platforms like Aave to earn interest, or carry out other transactions. You can also swap other tokens to EURe to off-ramp crypto. At the time of writing, there are no fees for on-ramping, off-ramping, or maintaining the account, though Monerium discloses that fees could be introduced in the future.

Another interesting feature is the integration with the Gnosis Pay Card. Directly from your Monerium account, you can request the card (currently available for free) and top up your Gnosis Pay account and spend your EURe just like a regular debit card. But, currently, you must transfer EURe to the Gnosis Pay wallet before spending. I’d prefer direct spending from Monerium.

Compliance:

Monerium states: “Monerium is an authorized and regulated Electronic Money Institution (EMI) compliant with EU e-money and the Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulations.” While I’m not a lawyer, and anyone managing large amounts should investigate this more deeply, it appears compliant for now. Approved accounts are assigned Estonian IBANs.

Important: This is still an on-chain token, and risks remain. Do your own research before depositing significant funds.

Let’s Use It!

I tested EURe both as an individual and as a company.

As an individual:

The process was smooth. I opened the app, connected my wallet, completed KYC with my personal details, and within two working days, my account was active. I sent €5 from my Revolut account, it arrived within seconds, and then deposited my 5 EURe into Aave to earn interest. Simple.

But what about DeFi?

Here is where limitations start to show. EURe is mainly available on Gnosis Chain, which isn’t one of the most widely used chains. This means fewer liquidity pools and potentially worse swap rates compared to other stablecoins on more active chains (as you can see from the example in the pictures).

If you want to use EURe on popular DeFi protocols on chains like Base or Arbitrum, you’ll need to bridge it. But, EURe isn’t supported on many popular chains like Base, so you must often first swap into another token before bridging, adding time, friction, and cost.

Right now, EURe lacks adoption, interoperability, and liquidity to be competitive in the DeFi landscape.

As a company:

The onboarding experience was similar to the individual one, with the only difference being the KYB process, which required more documents and information. Still, my account was approved in under two days.

I then tested Monerium as an off-ramp solution, comparing it with Kraken, which I normally use for off-ramps. With Monerium, I used Jumper Exchange to perform a cross-chain swap, converting 1,000 USDC on Base into 851.16 EURe on Gnosis. Since off-ramping is currently free, the same amount, €851.16 arrived in my company bank account with no extra costs.

Through Kraken, the process was slightly different: I sent 1,000 USDC to my Kraken account, exchanged them for euros via Kraken Pro, paying €1.70 in trading fees and receiving €853. Then I paid €1 to off-ramp. In total, €852 landed in my account.

Despite lower liquidity and a cross-chain swap requirement, outcomes were comparable. With better liquidity and routing, Monerium could even outperform Kraken. However, Monerium may add fees in the future, which could offset that advantage.

Since I only tested the USDC → EURe route, remember that results may vary with other tokens, so it’s always wise to compare.

Potential for Merchants

Although I’m not a merchant, I see potential for EURe acceptance. Merchants could receive payments in EURe without having to handle volatile cryptocurrencies, and off-ramping is easy and currently free.

If customers can pay directly in EURe, or if Monerium integrates a solution that allows payments in any crypto while merchants receive EURe (similar to Daimo Pay), this could become an attractive alternative to POS systems. Merchants would avoid traditional card processing fees, while any cross-chain swap or conversion costs would be borne by the customer. Because Monerium accounts are not fully regulated bank accounts, merchant compliance remains an important consideration.

Final Thoughts

The Monerium app is well designed, onboarding is smooth, and the current fee-free structure makes it appealing. The ability to open an account easily, earn yield on Aave, and move value without fees is compelling.

Still, there are too many “ifs.” Being mainly on Gnosis limits liquidity and DeFi opportunities. Adoption is low, so merchants are unlikely to see many customers paying in EURe outside of very crypto-friendly hubs. And if Monerium introduces fees, one of its main advantages, cost-free on-and off-ramps, would disappear.

At the same time, Monerium lacks some features that could attract non-crypto-native users. For example, they could integrate a simplified earning option, similar to Fluidkey’s auto-earn, so users don’t need to go to Aave and stake manually. They could also add easier interfaces for swaps or DeFi operations, as well as built-in tax reporting tools for both individuals and companies, making the experience more practical and compliant.

With these improvements, combined with the integration of the Gnosis Pay Card, Monerium could become a truly interesting solution. Personally, I’m already considering using it as my “bank account” for cash: earning yield on idle funds and spending with the card, all without paying service fees. But to attract a wider audience, Monerium still has a long way to go.

But their real potential for everyday individuals and small and medium-sized businesses remains untapped. In fact, beyond crypto speculation, stablecoins offer a new financial infrastructure: faster, cheaper, and more rewarding than most fintech solutions.

So, how can we utilize them more effectively, and what do we need in Europe to facilitate wider adoption?

Why Stablecoins Matter in Europe

While European banks offer minimal yields and slow transfers, stablecoins are enabling a new kind of financial experience.

First, they reduce friction in international transactions. Sending stablecoins from Rome to Singapore takes seconds, often with negligible fees, compared to the costs and delays of traditional bank wires or even popular fintech apps.

Second, they enable merchants to accept payments outside the traditional banking system and without paying high fees on every transaction. For small businesses in particular, avoiding the typical 1–3% card processing charge can have a significant impact on margins, while also allowing them to receive funds instantly and globally.

Third, they empower both companies and individuals to put idle cash to work. Instead of leaving euros in a low-yield savings account, often under 2% and subject to deposit caps or lockout periods, funds can be placed into secure yield-generating products, such as protocols like Aave, to potentially earn significantly higher returns - currently above 3% on Aave - without lock-up requirements or deposit limits. For companies, this means turning dormant treasury capital into an additional revenue stream; for individuals, it means making liquidity work for them rather than the bank.

What’s Missing for Adoption?

Despite the advantages, several obstacles remain:

• Lack of user-friendly tax solutions. Calculating taxes on yield manually is a nightmare. We need software that can automatically calculate taxes on earnings based on each country’s laws, or generate a tax report for accountants in the case of companies. In traditional finance, platforms like Trade Republic handle taxes automatically in many countries. Crypto platforms currently cannot do this, but we need similar functionalities.

• Few real-world payment integrations. Paying for groceries or receiving your salary in stablecoins is still rare. The infrastructure exists, but remains uncommon.

• Lack of cheap and easy on/off ramps. Moving between fiat and stablecoins in Europe is still costly and cumbersome for many users. Simple, low-cost conversion channels are essential for mainstream adoption.

The Tools Already Taking Shape

The ecosystem is far from empty. Projects like Fluidkey are enabling automatic yield on stablecoins with easy off-ramps to euros via EURC.

Monerium, with its EURe stablecoin, claims to be the easiest and most compliant way to access crypto features while maintaining the classic bank account experience.

Bridge.xyz acts as a stablecoin orchestrator for businesses to move between fiat and stable assets seamlessly. Its European counterpart, Iron.xyz, supports EURC directly.

On the decentralized side, platforms like Aave give anyone access to institutional-grade yield strategies. 

All these solutions need to keep improving, either by developing more integrated tools themselves or enabling third-party integrations, to offer a smoother, easier experience for the end user or company.

Final Thoughts

Stablecoins in Europe are still in the early stages, but the advantages are too strong to ignore. Faster payments, better yields, lower fees for merchants, and more control over liquidity are compelling reasons for both individuals and companies to pay attention.

With the right tools, clear regulations, seamless on/off ramps, and more real-world integrations, stablecoins could transition from niche to mainstream, redefining how we think about money in the eurozone.

If your money is sitting in a bank account earning next to nothing, it’s worth asking yourself: who’s really benefiting from your liquidity?

Next steps 

This is just the beginning of a series of articles exploring this topic in depth. I will test platforms and euro-pegged stablecoins both as an individual user and as a company. I’ll also speak with merchants to encourage them to integrate the best solutions I find, and to understand their challenges and how these can be addressed.

Together, we will discover whether it’s truly possible to live using stablecoins in Europe, or if it is still too early.

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