9 960 503 responses

We have completed the largest public opinion survey in the history of the European Union. We collected 9,960,503 responses.

Nearly 10 million completed surveys in eight weeks – that is how many responses the European Central Bank collected in its public consultation on the future of euro banknotes. The technology behind the project was provided by Warsaw-based 7 Points, the company behind the research platform SurveyLab.

Millions of Europeans Have Had Their Say on the Future of Euro Banknotes

The ECB is working on the next generation of euro banknotes – designed to be more secure, accessible, environmentally friendly and better reflect European identity. Ten designs have been shortlisted in a design competition, and people across Europe are now being invited to evaluate them. Before selecting the final designs, the European Central Bank decided to gather public opinion.

The survey is available in all 24 official EU languages and is open to everyone, regardless of age, citizenship or country of residence. Participants evaluate 10 designs based on two themes: “European Culture” and “Rivers and Birds”. The first includes figures such as Marie Skłodowska-Curie, Ludwig van Beethoven and Miguel de Cervantes, while the second features the common kingfisher, European bee-eater and white stork. The first theme celebrates Europe’s shared cultural heritage, while the second highlights European wildlife and the diversity of its ecosystems.

The ECB’s previous public consultation on banknote themes collected 365,000 responses in 2023, setting a record at the time. The largest consultation in the European Commission’s history – on ending seasonal clock changes in 2018 – attracted 4.6 million responses. This year’s ECB survey surpassed that figure in less than 4 days.

Source: ECB (14 August 2026), European Commission, European Court of Auditors, Special Report 14/2019. Comparison with the largest online public consultations in the European Union.

Polish Technology Powering a European Project

The ECB itself confirms the role of the Polish company. The bank has been using SurveyLab tools for research projects since 2022.

The survey is fully anonymous. The only information collected is gender, age group, country of residence, and education level. Data is stored on servers within the European Union and analysed exclusively in aggregate form. The survey incorporates mechanisms designed to minimise the risk of bot participation and multiple submissions by the same person.

Traffic peaked shortly after launch. According to the platform’s statistics, more than 4.4 million survey sessions were initiated on 24 July. At the busiest moment, more than 35,000 people were connected to the survey simultaneously. More than 83% of all responses were submitted on mobile devices.

Source: SurveyLab platform data as of 21 September 2026. Daily distribution of survey starts since the launch of the study.

Source: SurveyLab platform data as of 21 September 2026. Respondents’ devices and operating systems.

Connections came from IP addresses associated with more than 200 countries and territories, including locations outside the European Union. Nearly one in three surveys was completed in German. Although Poland is not part of the euro area, Polish ranked 8-th among the survey languages, accounting for nearly 2% of all submissions.

Source: SurveyLab platform data as of 21 September 2026. Language versions selected by respondents.

“35 thousand simultaneous connections, with mobile devices accounting for 83% of traffic, present a significant challenge. A survey featuring ten graphic designs for banknotes must load quickly even with a weak mobile signal – on a train or bus. The end-user experience is what matters. Server performance is only half the battle.” – Piotr Kulas, CTO, 7 Points

A Survey That Could Shape the Future Look of the Euro

The survey results are one of three factors informing the decision, alongside the design competition jury’s verdict and a technical assessment. The ECB’s Governing Council will take public opinion into account and is expected to select a design by the end of 2026. The new banknotes will not enter wallets immediately, however. Once the design has been selected, further design, technological, and production stages will be required, meaning that several more years will pass before the banknotes enter circulation.

The project for the European Central Bank demonstrates that solutions developed by Polish technology companies can support initiatives operating on a European Union-wide scale. SurveyLab is more than just a form-building tool: in this project, it serves as the technological infrastructure for a survey whose scale demands high performance, scalability and reliability.

Source: SurveyLab platform data as of 21 September 2026; ECB data for the number of completed surveys. The ECB survey on the future of euro banknotes in numbers.

About SurveyLab

SurveyLab is a Polish platform for conducting customer, employee and market research, developed since 2009. Companies and institutions in more than 65 countries use the platform. It enables multilingual surveys to be conducted simultaneously, automates reporting, and supports research projects involving millions of responses. The company complies with ISO 27001 and GDPR requirements, and stores data on servers within the European Union, in Poland, Germany, and France.