EU will ban cash payments over €10k starting July 2027

From July 10, 2027, businesses and service providers across the European Union will be prohibited from accepting cash payments above €10,000 under Regulation (EU) 2024/1624, part of the bloc’s campaign against money laundering and terrorist financing. The restriction also covers payments linked to one purchase, preventing customers from evading the cap by splitting a large amount into smaller installments. Cash payments over €3,000 will require businesses to verify customers’ identities, adding checks even when a transaction remains below the overall limit. The rules apply to commercial transactions, including purchases of vehicles, luxury goods and renovation services, but not private sales between individuals or payments and deposits made through banks and electronic-money providers.

The EU-wide limit is a common maximum, not a guarantee that cash payments up to €10,000 will be allowed everywhere: member states may keep or introduce stricter national caps. Spain, for example, already limits cash payments to €1,000, and that rule will remain. The change replaces a patchwork of national restrictions with a shared baseline intended to reduce opportunities to move large sums through jurisdictions with looser rules. Businesses handling high-value sales will need systems to reject oversized cash payments, check identities for transactions above €3,000 and watch for attempts to divide purchases. Most routine consumer spending and private person-to-person deals are unaffected. Adopted in 2024, the regulation has a transition period before its scheduled start; no delay or change to the deadline is indicated.