Overview
- EU institutions have pushed a Single‑Currency package that pairs measures to roll out a central bank digital euro with an EU law that explicitly defines cash as legal tender and sets acceptance rules.
- The proposal would make it unlawful for traders to pre‑emptively bar cash in face‑to‑face sales by banning 'No Cash' signs while listing narrow exceptions such as very large notes, excessive coins, lack of change, unmanned points of sale, and emergency outages.
- Member states would be required to ensure effective urban and rural access to cash and to prepare resilience plans to cope with ATM and bank branch declines and possible outages.
- A separate EU anti‑money‑laundering regulation takes effect from mid‑2027 and will cap business cash payments at €10,000 while triggering mandatory ID and enhanced verification for cash transactions from €3,000.
- Sweden enacted a law on Wednesday, July 1, 2026, requiring supermarkets and pharmacies to accept cash again, a move that underscores national variation, unresolved enforcement questions, and some retailer pushback.