From 10 July 2027, it will no longer be possible to pay in cash for goods or services amounting to €10,000 or more when at least one of the parties is acting in a professional or business capacity. The measure stems from European Regulation 2024/1624, part of the EU’s wider framework for tackling money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
Uniform threshold across EU
The regulation establishes a single €10,000 limit applicable across all EU member states, while allowing individual countries to maintain or introduce stricter national thresholds should they choose to do so. The aim is to harmonise the rules and prevent gaps between national laws from being exploited to shift suspicious transactions towards more permissive jurisdictions. Although the regulation was published in 2024, it will not come into force until the summer of 2027, giving both member states and businesses time to adapt.
The new rules apply primarily to payments for goods and services. Above the threshold, transactions must be made using traceable payment methods. The European framework also introduces tighter controls for certain cash transactions between €3,000 and €10,000, with identification requirements in specific circumstances. Strictly private exchanges between individuals, however, remain outside the scope of the regulation, meaning non-professional transactions are not subject to the cap.
Bridging exploitable gaps in legislation
For Brussels, placing limits on large cash payments is seen as a key tool for disrupting money laundering. Cash remains a particularly sensitive medium for concealing the origin or destination of illicit funds, and by establishing a common ceiling, the EU hopes to close the loopholes that have historically existed between national legal frameworks and bolster transparency across the EU’s internal market.
The practical impact of the measure will vary considerably from country to country. In member states where strict cash limits already exist, the change will be minimal. In those where large cash payments have remained widely accepted, particularly in certain areas of trade and services, the adjustment could be more consequential. From July 2027, large cash transactions will no longer be the norm across the EU, which will for the first time operate under a single common framework for high-value commercial payments.
