# EU to Cap Cash Payments for Goods and Services at €10,000 in 2027

By Riza Dagoc

Canonical URL: https://www.tokenpost.com/news/regulation/35421
Published: 2026-10-20T07:41:49.000Z
Updated: 2026-10-20T07:41:49.000Z
Section: Regulation

> Linked payments count toward the ceiling. A separate rule requires customer identity checks for certain cash transactions of at least €3,000.

The European Union will cap cash payments for goods and services involving professional sellers or service providers at €10,000 starting July 10, 2027, under a bloc-wide anti-money-laundering rule.

The regulation, adopted in 2024, bars covered cash payments above €10,000, or the equivalent in another currency. A payment of exactly €10,000 remains within the EU ceiling, though a member state may impose a lower limit.

Several payments that appear linked count together. Splitting a covered purchase into smaller cash installments therefore does not avoid the limit. Member states may keep existing, stricter ceilings or introduce new ones, so the EU figure does not mean €10,000 in cash can be used for every covered purchase across the bloc.

The restriction applies when someone selling goods or providing services acts in a professional capacity, whether that person makes or accepts the cash payment. It does not cover payments between individuals when neither is acting professionally.

Payments or deposits made at the premises of credit institutions, electronic money issuers and payment service providers are also outside the cash-payment ceiling. Amounts above €10,000 in those settings must be reported to financial intelligence units.

A separate provision requires entities subject to the regulation’s customer due diligence rules to identify and verify customers for occasional cash transactions of at least €3,000. That figure is an identity-check threshold for covered entities, not a general ceiling on cash purchases.

An exception to the identity-check requirement applies where a member state’s cash-payment limit is €3,000 or less. It does not cover cash payments or deposits at the premises of credit institutions, electronic money issuers or payment service providers.

The regulation also extends anti-money-laundering obligations to crypto-asset service providers. Those obligations are separate from the ceiling on cash payments for goods and services. The EU adopted the regulation on May 31, 2024, and its cash-payment ceiling is scheduled to apply on July 10, 2027.