The Euro as Legal Tender from an Italian Perspective

European and national legislation, whilst attributing banknotes and coins the feature of legal tender, do not so far as establishing whether alternative means of payment may enjoy the same ability. On the assumption that the attribution of legal tender ultimately depends on the conclusiveness of the transfer of money as the ideal legal unit created by the State or the legitimate monetary authority, in any event either physical or when dematerialized associated with the mandatory cooperation of an authorized and supervised intermediary, in order to discharge the debtor from the relevant monetary obligation, we argue that, on the basis of the most recent European legislation on payment services, the effect of legal tender should be also attributed, in addition to Euro banknotes and coins, to scriptural and electronic money denominated in Euro.