Cash machines will start spewing out euros in early hours of 2002

A few minutes after midnight on New Year's Day the Belgian Finance Minister, Didier Reynders, will walk to a cash dispenser somewhere in Brussels, insert his personal cash card and withdraw the country's first euro notes.

This will not be a casual transaction, but part of a glitzy ceremony attended by the nation's media and dignitaries from the European Commission.

Mr Reynders' euro withdrawal will be mirrored across the continent as cash machines in 12 EU countries stop dispensing marks, francs or lire and start to spew out freshly printed euro notes.

Policy makers believe the battle for public support of the euro could be won on the first days, or even the first hours, of its introduction – at cash machines across Europe.

With most banks closed on 1 January, cash machines will be the best way of getting euros into circulation swiftly and if they fail to do so many consumers will be left angry or disappointed, or both. The strain on the system will be acute because consumers may refrain from drawing the old currency in the days before the changeover and demand euros en masse on 1 January.

With 6,500 cash machines in Belgium alone, the scale of the switch is daunting even for one of the EU's smaller member states.

One of those organising the transition is in no doubt that the first few hours in the life of the euro will be crucial. Nabil Jijakli, head of division at the Belgian national bank, said midnight would be "the key moment both in Belgium and in the rest of Europe".

He added: "Seventy per cent of banknotes nowadays are distributed via automatic telling machines, rather than withdrawals over the counter in the banks. Up to now, the scenario is going well. We do not have a problem. There will be no shortage of banknotes and coins."

Belgium alone is producing 55 million banknotes and two billion coins. The banks now have 60 per cent of the notes in terms of value that will go into circulation.

Belgium has two types of cash machines – 1,200 on the street and 5,300 indoor "self-banking" points which customers can only enter by swiping a card.

On 31 December the street machines will close at 4pm before opening again for the changeover at midnight. The "self banks" will close as usual at 10pm and open at 6am on 1 January, dispensing euros.

Across the eurozone the banking sector is working hard but there are big differences. A recent survey showed that in Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Austria almost all cash machines will give out euros on 1 January, with Italy and Spain not far behind. The laggard was Finland which said it would have just one quarter ready.

Gerassimos Thomas, a spokesman for the European Commission, said: "We are convinced that the changeover will be successful. The challenge is to make it as smooth as possible on day one and, as much as possible, to avoid during the first couple of days, people running out of the euro and having to queue for services."

Central banks in Austria, Finland, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and possibly France will open on 1 January as will branches of banks in some countries (about 1,000 in Spain, for example).

The authorities have also been working hard to ensure that the system which underwrites electronic transactions with debit and credit cards doubles its normal capacity. One of the worries is that curiosity will prompt people to test the system to see if it works, producing massive over-demand.