{"id":3041,"date":"2025-10-14T15:03:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T13:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/?post_type=btv_wiki&#038;p=3041"},"modified":"2026-02-26T11:41:43","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T10:41:43","slug":"cash-legal-tender","status":"publish","type":"btv_wiki","link":"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/knowledge-base\/european-legislation\/cash-legal-tender\/","title":{"rendered":"Cash Legal Tender"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-legal-tender-and-obligation-to-accept\">Legal tender and obligation to accept<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Euro banknotes and coins are officially recognized as legal tender in the euro area. This means that shops and businesses must, in principle, accept <a href=\"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/knowledge-base\/cash-payments\/cash-money\/\"><strong><u>cash payments<\/u><\/strong><\/a>. Exceptions to this rule are only permitted in special circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Refusal is permitted when there is a valid, pre-announced, and temporary reason\u2014for example, when a customer wants to pay with a very high denomination banknote and the store does not have change. Cash may also be taken out of circulation if it has been explicitly agreed with the customer in advance that another payment method will be used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unilateral exclusion by businesses\u2014such as a sign saying \u201cpay with debit cards only, no cash\u201d\u2014is not permitted under the proposed European rules and is therefore expressly restricted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Key elements of the European Commission&#8217;s proposal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The European Commission has submitted a comprehensive legislative proposal to further clarify and strengthen the status of cash. Some of the key points are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>When a bank wants to close an ATM or branch, it must notify the national supervisory authority in advance.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Banks must take measures when the closure of an ATM or branch reduces access to cash.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Member States must monitor the accessibility of cash in each region \u2013 both in cities and nation wide \u2013 using European and national measurement methods.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If a Member State fails to take sufficient measures, the European Commission may intervene to ensure access to cash.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Shops and businesses may not refuse cash as a matter of course and may not use general terms and conditions to categorically exclude cash.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>These proposals are part of the broader regulatory package on the euro and are in line with the increasing attention in Europe to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/knowledge-base\/cash-payments\/atm-reachability\/\" type=\"link\" id=\"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/knowledge-base\/cash-payments\/atm-reachability\/\"><strong><u>availability and acceptance of cash<\/u><\/strong><\/a> as a public good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Role of the Dutch Payments Association<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Dutch Payments Association is closely monitoring developments surrounding the European dossier, partly because of its close connection with Dutch legislation on cash and the future national acceptance obligation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\t<div data-name=\"acf\/buttons\" class=\"mt-4 lg:mt-6\" >\n\t\t\n\t\t<ul class=\"flex flex-wrap gap-2 md:gap-6\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\n\n\n<a\n\tdata-variant=\"primary\"\n\tdata-size=\"default\"\n\tclass=\"group inline-flex justify-center items-center gap-2 cursor-pointer text-sm md:text-md transition-[background,border-color,color] font-bold px-4 md:px-5 min-w-[52px] md:min-w-[60px] min-h-[52px] md:min-h-[60px] border-2 border-base-500 rounded-full bg-base-500 text-mint-500 underline-fade-in hocus:bg-mint-500 hocus:border-mint-500 hocus:text-base-500\"\n\n\t\n\t\t\thref=\"https&#x3A;&#x2F;&#x2F;ec.europa.eu&#x2F;info&#x2F;law&#x2F;better-regulation&#x2F;have-your-say&#x2F;initiatives&#x2F;13429-Clarifying-the-legal-tender-status-of-euro-banknotes-and-coins_en\"\n\t\n\t\t\ttarget=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t>\n\t\n\t\t\t<span data-button-text>\n\t\t\tDiscover the European Commission&#8217;s consultation\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"sr-only\">Opent in een nieuw venster<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\" flex items-center justify-center w-[1em] h-[1em] icon \" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t<svg aria-hidden=\"true\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"32\" height=\"32\" fill=\"#000000\" viewBox=\"0 0 256 256\"><path d=\"M228,104a12,12,0,0,1-24,0V69l-59.51,59.51a12,12,0,0,1-17-17L187,52H152a12,12,0,0,1,0-24h64a12,12,0,0,1,12,12Zm-44,24a12,12,0,0,0-12,12v64H52V84h64a12,12,0,0,0,0-24H48A20,20,0,0,0,28,80V208a20,20,0,0,0,20,20H176a20,20,0,0,0,20-20V140A12,12,0,0,0,184,128Z\"><\/path><\/svg>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>European legislation on cash legal tender sets out the rules for the use and acceptance of euro banknotes and coins as legal tender within the European Union. In the euro area, euro banknotes and coins must in principle always be accepted, unless another payment method has been agreed in advance or a legal exception applies. These rules ensure that everyone retains access to physical money and that cash payments remain possible, even as digital means of payment become increasingly common.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":3226,"parent":15,"menu_order":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":true,"editor_notices":[]},"btv_subject_tax":[13],"class_list":["post-3041","btv_wiki","type-btv_wiki","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","btv_subject_tax-european-legislation"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin  - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Cash Legal Tender - Dutch Payments Association<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Cash Legal Tender in the euro area: obligation to accept cash and new EU rules to safeguard access and acceptance.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/knowledge-base\/european-legislation\/cash-legal-tender\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cash Legal Tender\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Cash Legal Tender in the euro area: obligation to accept cash and new EU rules to safeguard access and acceptance.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/knowledge-base\/european-legislation\/cash-legal-tender\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Dutch Payments Association\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-26T10:41:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/08\/Contant-geld-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@NLbetalen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/knowledge-base\/european-legislation\/cash-legal-tender\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/knowledge-base\/european-legislation\/cash-legal-tender\/\",\"name\":\"Cash Legal Tender - Dutch Payments Association\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/knowledge-base\/european-legislation\/cash-legal-tender\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/knowledge-base\/european-legislation\/cash-legal-tender\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/08\/Contant-geld-scaled.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-14T13:03:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-26T10:41:43+00:00\",\"description\":\"Cash Legal Tender in the euro area: obligation to accept cash and new EU rules to safeguard access and acceptance.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/knowledge-base\/european-legislation\/cash-legal-tender\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/knowledge-base\/european-legislation\/cash-legal-tender\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/knowledge-base\/european-legislation\/cash-legal-tender\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/08\/Contant-geld-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/08\/Contant-geld-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"2 euro coins stacked and euro banknotes on a white background\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/knowledge-base\/european-legislation\/cash-legal-tender\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Knowledge base\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/knowledge-base\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"European legislation\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/knowledge-base\/european-legislation\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Cash Legal Tender\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Dutch Payments Association\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Cash Legal Tender - Dutch Payments Association","description":"Cash Legal Tender in the euro area: obligation to accept cash and new EU rules to safeguard access and acceptance.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/knowledge-base\/european-legislation\/cash-legal-tender\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Cash Legal Tender","og_description":"Cash Legal Tender in the euro area: obligation to accept cash and new EU rules to safeguard access and acceptance.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/knowledge-base\/european-legislation\/cash-legal-tender\/","og_site_name":"Dutch Payments Association","article_modified_time":"2026-02-26T10:41:43+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1707,"url":"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/08\/Contant-geld-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@NLbetalen","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/knowledge-base\/european-legislation\/cash-legal-tender\/","url":"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/knowledge-base\/european-legislation\/cash-legal-tender\/","name":"Cash Legal Tender - Dutch Payments Association","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/knowledge-base\/european-legislation\/cash-legal-tender\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/knowledge-base\/european-legislation\/cash-legal-tender\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/08\/Contant-geld-scaled.jpg","datePublished":"2025-10-14T13:03:09+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-26T10:41:43+00:00","description":"Cash Legal Tender in the euro area: obligation to accept cash and new EU rules to safeguard access and acceptance.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/knowledge-base\/european-legislation\/cash-legal-tender\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/knowledge-base\/european-legislation\/cash-legal-tender\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/knowledge-base\/european-legislation\/cash-legal-tender\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/08\/Contant-geld-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/08\/Contant-geld-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1707,"caption":"2 euro coins stacked and euro banknotes on a white background"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/knowledge-base\/european-legislation\/cash-legal-tender\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Knowledge base","item":"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/knowledge-base\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"European legislation","item":"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/knowledge-base\/european-legislation\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Cash Legal Tender"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/","name":"Dutch Payments Association","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/btv_wiki\/3041","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/btv_wiki"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/btv_wiki"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/btv_wiki\/15"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"btv_subject_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.betaalvereniging.nl\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/btv_subject_tax?post=3041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}