Cash Use in Europe

Italy’s new government intends to scrap the requirement to accept electronic settlements for purchases below €30 and to raise it to €60, according to a draft of its 2023 budget recently approved by the cabinet. The budget also raises a limit on cash payments to €5,000 from a previous limit of €1,000 from next year.

The prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, described card payments as private money and told parliament, ‘The only legal currency in Italy and Europe are the paper notes issued by the European Central Bank. Electronic money is not legal tender, it is a form of private money.’ She also said, ‘forcing Italians to almost exclusively use electronic payments’ was an ‘illegitimate present to the banks and financial firms that sell these services.’ Media reports have explored whether this is playing into the hands of those wishing to evade paying taxes.