EU cash regulation: is an obligation to accept cash coming to retail?
The EU wants to protect the role of cash by law, up to and including a ban on "no cash" signs. What the planned regulation covers, how far the procedure has come and what retailers should take from it.
In short: since June 2023, the EU has been working on a cash regulation that secures euro cash as legal tender. At its core is an obligation to accept cash: retailers are to accept cash as a matter of principle when buyer and seller are present in person, and blanket "no cash" signs would be inadmissible. The European Parliament took its position in June 2026, and the final negotiations between Parliament, Council and Commission can start from July 2026.
What does the planned EU cash regulation cover?
The regulation is part of the EU Commission's so-called single currency package, which consists of two parts: the cash regulation and the legal framework for a digital euro. For retail, the first part matters most. It bindingly defines euro notes and coins as legal tender and attaches an acceptance obligation: anyone selling in person is no longer to be allowed to refuse cash across the board.
Added to this is a supply mandate: member states are to ensure sufficient and effective access to cash in cities and rural areas and report on it annually. Member states and Parliament additionally call for resilience plans so that cash remains available in crisis and emergency scenarios. The background is the creeping retreat of the infrastructure: between 2018 and 2023, the number of ATMs in Germany fell by around 14 percent, about 8,000 fewer machines, and around 9,000 bank branches have closed since 2018.
Which exceptions to the acceptance obligation are envisaged?
The acceptance obligation is not meant to be absolute. Three exceptions are emerging in the procedure:
Disproportionately large notes. Anyone wanting to pay a small amount with a very large note can be turned away if no suitable change is available.
Vending machines. Vending machines may continue to operate cashless, except for essential services.
Further exceptions by legal act. The Commission reserves the right to define additional exceptions. The final list will only be set when the negotiations conclude.
Where does the procedure stand?
The EU Commission presented the draft in June 2023. The member states in the Council set their position in 2025, and the European Parliament adopted its negotiating mandate in June 2026. This means the trilogue negotiations between Commission, Parliament and Council can begin from July 2026. There is no date yet for entry into force; as an EU regulation, the rules would apply directly in all member states after adoption, without a German implementing law.
Until then, today's practice remains in place in Germany: retailers can contractually exclude cash payment via a clear notice. It is exactly this option that the regulation would largely end in physical stores.
What does the cash regulation mean for retailers?
For most brick-and-mortar stores, the acceptance obligation changes little in everyday business, because they accept cash anyway. 45% of all purchases in 2025 were paid in cash, according to the Bundesbank study "Payment Behaviour in Germany 2025", and older customers in particular pay cash more often than average. Anyone who has been thinking about a cashless store, however, should review those plans with the regulation in mind.
More interesting is the strategic message: cash remains politically wanted and legally protected, while at the same time POS rules in Germany are becoming more digital, from the TSE obligation through the POS report to the tax office to the planned cash register obligation from 2027. Together this means for the store: manage cash cleanly, with cash counts, end-of-day closing and tamper-proof recording, and offer receipts digitally. The POS has to master both worlds at the same time.
To the article: cash register obligation 2027 and the end of the receipt mandate
Cash and card at one POS
The DezemberHub POS takes cash and card in the same transaction, completes the end-of-day closing in minutes and issues the receipt either printed or digitally, via QR code, email, SMS or WhatsApp. Legal changes such as new POS or cash rules flow into the software as regular updates.
The POS at a glanceAs of July 19, 2026, the legislative procedure is still ongoing. Sources: EU Commission draft regulation COM(2023) 364, Negotiating mandate of the European Parliament (June 2026), Bundesbank Monthly Report March 2025 on access to cash, Bundesbank, Payment Behaviour in Germany 2025 as well as reporting by netzpolitik.org. This article is for orientation and does not replace legal advice.
Frequently asked questions about the EU cash regulation
Do retailers in Germany have to accept cash?
Today, retailers can contractually exclude cash payment via a clear notice. The planned EU cash regulation would largely end this in physical stores: cash would have to be accepted as a matter of principle when buyer and seller are present in person. The regulation has not yet been adopted.
Will "no cash" stores be banned?
According to the position of the member states and the European Parliament, blanket "no cash" signs are to become inadmissible. Exceptions are envisaged, for example for disproportionately large notes without suitable change and for vending machines outside essential services.
From when does the EU cash regulation apply?
That is not yet fixed. The trilogue negotiations between Commission, Parliament and Council can begin from July 2026. As an EU regulation, the rules would apply directly in all member states after adoption, without a separate German law.
How much is still paid in cash in Germany?
45% of all purchases in 2025 were paid in cash, according to the Bundesbank study "Payment Behaviour in Germany 2025". For the first time, the majority of payments were cashless, but cash remains the most-used single means of payment.
Does a POS need a TSE for cash?
Yes. Since 2020, every electronic POS with a cash register function has needed a certified technical security element under Section 146a AO. A system has a cash register function as soon as it can record cash payments, regardless of how customers actually pay. So far, only the open cash drawer without any POS technology gets by without a TSE.
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