Is cash being abolished? What really applies in Germany and the EU

The short answer

No, cash is not being abolished, either in Germany or in the EU: there is no law and no draft to that effect, and under § 14 of the Bundesbankgesetz (Bundesbank Act) euro banknotes remain the only unrestricted legal tender. What is actually coming points the other way: an EU regulation intended to secure the acceptance of notes and coins, and, from 10 July 2027, an upper limit of 10,000 euros for cash payments to businesses.

The worry is still not plucked from thin air. It is fed by three developments running at the same time that tend to be lumped together: fewer cash payments in everyday life, planned mandatory card acceptance and the digital euro. None of them abolishes cash. But you have to keep them apart to understand what really changes for customers and businesses.

What applies today

The law is simpler than the debate makes it sound. Euro banknotes are legal tender (Art. 128 TFEU, § 14(1) BBankG). Coins have a limit: nobody is obliged to accept more than 50 coins in a single payment (Art. 11 Regulation (EC) No 974/98).

On 26 January 2021 (joined cases C-422/19 and C-423/19, Hessischer Rundfunk), the European Court of Justice clarified what “legal tender” means: in principle, an obligation to accept. Member States may restrict it for reasons of public interest if the restriction is proportionate. There is so far no statutory ban on “card only” signs in German shops.

In everyday life it looks like this (Bundesbank, Zahlungsverhalten in Deutschland 2025, press release of 17.06.2026):

Indicator 2025	Value
Cash share of all payments	45 % (2023: 51 %)
Cash share of turnover	23 %
Debit card share of all payments	26 %
Mobile payment share	10 %
In-person purchases where paying cash was possible	94 %
Respondents for whom it matters that cash payment remains possible	80 %

2025 was therefore the first year in which more was paid cashless than in cash. At the same time, four out of five respondents want cash to stay. Both form the starting point for what the EU is now negotiating.

What the EU is planning: protecting cash, not abolishing it

On 28 June 2023 the Commission presented two regulations as a package: one on the digital euro (COM(2023) 369) and one on cash as legal tender (COM(2023) 364). The second is meant to set out what “mandatory acceptance” means in practice and to oblige Member States to monitor access to cash in towns and rural areas.

Body	Status	What it means for the shop
Commission	Proposal 28.06.2023	Acceptance at face value; exceptions by agreement
Council	Mandate 17.12.2025 (Doc. 16697/25)	No blanket “no cash” for consumers present in person; indicating a preference for card payment allowed
Parliament	Position in summer 2026 (netzpolitik.org, 29.06.2026)	Likewise no “no cash” sign; vending machines may refuse cash
Trilogue	ongoing, no agreement as of 06.11.2026	Adoption open

The Council text names three cases in which a merchant may still refuse cash: in good faith and for a temporary, specific reason beyond their control; where another means of payment was agreed in advance; and at an unmanned point of sale, i.e. a vending machine. The merchant bears the burden of proof for the first case.

Worked examples: where the limits lie

Three situations that really happen at the till:

• Coffee for 3.80 euros, customer pays with a 100-euro note. The Council text cites exactly this case as an example: a 100-euro note for a debt of less than five euros may be refused because it is disproportionate.
• Bill of 120 euros, customer pays in coins. Nobody has to take more than 50 coins. With 50 two-euro coins, at most 100 euros in coins would have to be accepted; the rest would have to be paid another way.
• Used car for 12,000 euros from a dealer. From 10 July 2027 the dealer may no longer accept this amount in cash (Art. 80 Regulation (EU) 2024/1624). If the same person buys the car from a private individual, the limit does not apply.

The upper limit is the only point at which cash is genuinely restricted by law. It serves the fight against money laundering and concerns large amounts and trade with businesses, not the weekly supermarket shop.

Why the abolition worry persists anyway

Because cash would not have to disappear by law to become rarer. What matters is the infrastructure behind it. Citing Bundesbank data, netzpolitik.org reports that the number of cash machines in Germany fell by almost 14 per cent between 2018 and 2023, around 8,000 machines (29.06.2026). For a business, cash becomes more expensive the less of it is used: depositing, change and cashing up cost almost the same whether the till is full or half empty. I have worked through that in cash costs in retail.

The planned mandatory card acceptance and the digital euro reinforce the impression but change nothing about cash itself. Under the drafts so far, both require a digital payment to be offered in addition. The shop that takes cards keeps taking notes.

For context, a disclosure: I work as a strategic consultant for the payment network operator (Netzbetreiber) SENZA, which offers card acceptance. That changes nothing about the result of this text: for cash, what the law says applies, and the law says nothing about abolition.

What this means for customers and businesses

1. As a customer: Cash remains legal tender. Anyone wanting to pay a business in cash for large purchases must observe the 10,000-euro limit from 10 July 2027.
2. As a business with a “card only” sign: Permitted today, but according to Council and Parliament on its way out for in-person consumer business. If you are planning now, do not exclude cash permanently; at most, mark card payment as preferred.
3. As a business with vending machines: Under both positions, the machine may stay cashless.
4. As a merchant with high ticket sizes (cars, jewellery, furniture): From July 2027, settle payments of 10,000 euros or more cashless and tell customers in advance.
5. Know your cash costs: If you keep accepting cash, and that will remain the rule, you should know what a cash payment costs in your own business.
6. Watch the trilogue: The final text may still differ on exceptions and deadlines. Until publication in the Official Journal, current law applies.