Europe rediscovers the benefits of cash

After spending years promoting digital payments to combat tax evasion and money laundering, European Union ministers decided in December ban businesses from refusing cash. This reversal comes as 12% of European businesses were outright refusing cash in 2024, up from 4% three years earlier.

More than one in three cinemas in the Netherlands no longer accept notes and coins. Cash use across the eurozone has fallen from 79% of cash transactions in 2016 to just 52% in 2024.

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Sweden is leading the digital transition, where 90% of purchases are now made digitally and cash represents less than 1% of GDP compared to 22% in Japan.

The policy change stems from concerns about the financial inclusion of elderly and poor populations who struggle with digital systems.

Concerns about the durability of “plastic money” also led to the decision, when Spaniards facing nationwide power outages last spring were unable to buy food.

European officials are concerned about the reliance on US payment companies Visa and MasterCard. The EU is now recommending that its citizens stockpile enough cash to survive a week without electricity or internet access.

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