Cash from July 2027: the €10,000 limit, ID checks from €3,000 and why splitting payments does not help

Paying cash for a used car, a watch or a kitchen is still something many people take for granted, as long as the seller plays along. In the EU that changes on 10 July 2027. From then on the European anti-money laundering regulation applies across the whole EU, Sweden, Denmark and Finland included, and with it a limit of €10,000 on cash payments in business dealings. Since 1 October 2026 there have also been draft criteria by which banks, bureaux de change and dealers are in future to recognise whether several smaller payments are really one large one. Anyone who values cash as part of their privacy should know the new rules before breaking them by accident.

The limit: what Article 80 says

The rule sits in Article 80 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1624. Persons trading in goods or providing services may accept or make cash payments only up to €10,000. This applies in foreign currency too, and whether the payment is made in one operation or in several operations that appear to be linked. Under Article 90 the regulation applies from 10 July 2027.

Member states may set stricter limits, and countries that already have lower caps keep them. If you live or shop in a country with a lower national limit, the stricter one applies.

Member states penalise breaches under their own law, and they do so against persons who breach the limit in their professional capacity. The target is above all the dealer who accepts the money.

What stays allowed

The limit is not a ban on cash. Article 80(4) expressly exempts two areas.

Payments between private individuals who are not acting in a professional capacity. If you buy your neighbour's motorbike privately, the limit does not cover you.

Deposits and withdrawals on the premises of banks, e-money institutions and payment service providers. So you may still pay in more than €10,000 at the counter. From July 2027, however, institutions report every deposit or withdrawal above this limit to the national financial intelligence unit, within the deadlines it sets. The deposit stays allowed, but it does not go unnoticed.

And of course cash remains legal tender. In parallel with the digital euro, Parliament and Council have been negotiating since July 2026 on a legal framework of its own for euro banknotes and coins, documented in procedure 2023/0211(COD). There is no result yet.

ID from as little as €3,000

Less well known than the limit is a second threshold. Under Article 19(4) of the regulation, obliged entities must at least identify the customer and verify their identity for an occasional cash transaction of €3,000 or more, in other words check their ID. Obliged entities include banks, bureaux de change, payment service providers and dealers in high-value goods such as precious metals, precious stones or art.

In practice this means that anyone in the EU who changes €4,000 into dollars at a bureau de change from July 2027, or buys gold coins for €5,000 in cash from a precious metals dealer, will have to show ID. In the UK the regulation does not apply; there, the cash rules for dealers attach to the high value dealer regime and its threshold of €10,000, described further below.

For money remittance, the classic transfer services without an account, the threshold for occasional transactions under Article 19(2) is €1,000, and the same applies to crypto-asset service providers.

Why splitting payments does not help: the new criteria for linked transactions

Each of these thresholds expressly also applies to linked transactions. Anyone who makes three payments of €4,000 each instead of one of €12,000 does not stay under the limit if the payments belong together. The regulation defines linked transactions as two or more transactions with the same or similar origin, destination and purpose, or with other relevant features in common, within a specific period.

How obliged entities are to recognise this was set out by the EU anti-money laundering authority AMLA on 1 October 2026 in the final drafts of its standards under Article 19(9); the press release names them as one of three standards for the private sector. Article 3 of the drafts requires an overall assessment of all circumstances and names criteria that must be checked at a minimum:

• Payments by the same person, but also by customers who, on the information available to the obliged entity, are family members, business partners or persons acting in concert.
• The use of the same digital infrastructure or shared intermediaries.
• Payments that concern the same purchase.
• Payments at different locations, through an agent network or remotely, where origin and destination are the same.
• Payments within a short period, measured against the nature of the business.

For bureaux de change, money remittance services and crypto-asset service providers the drafts set a fixed minimum period: one month. Anyone who changes €1,500 three times in the course of a month at a bureau de change must expect the amounts to be added up. The same providers are also to treat three or more transactions within twelve months as a criterion for whether an ongoing business relationship already exists. If it does, the thresholds for occasional transactions no longer apply, and full customer due diligence does.

Legally these are still drafts. The European Commission adopts them as a delegated regulation, and according to the press release they apply six months after entry into force. Anyone who wants to understand the purpose of the rules does not need the details: deliberately splitting amounts to get round thresholds is exactly the pattern examiners look for.

Cash when travelling: declaration from €10,000

One limit that many confuse with the new cap has applied for a long time. Anyone who enters or leaves the EU with €10,000 or more in cash must declare the amount to customs under Article 3 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1672. That applies, for example, on the journey from Sweden to Norway, or from Finland to the UK. The details to be given include the owner, the origin and the intended use of the money. For cash sent by post or courier, customs may require disclosure.

Outside the EU the rules are similar but set in their own currencies. The UK requires a declaration of £10,000 or more in cash carried between Great Britain and any country outside the UK, EU countries included, with details of the owner, the source and the intended use. Norway requires anyone entering or leaving the country with currency worth more than NOK 25,000 to report it to Norwegian Customs.

The UK: no cap, but the high value dealer rule

The UK has no general cap on cash payments, and the EU limit does not apply there. Instead it has a registration rule. According to HMRC's guidance, a business or sole trader that accepts or makes cash payments of €10,000 or more, or the equivalent in any currency, in exchange for goods is a high value dealer and must register for money laundering supervision before taking such a payment. Splitting does not help here either: several cash payments for one transaction that add up to the threshold count as one high value payment. Payments by card or bank transfer are not covered.

Four everyday cases from July 2027

The used car for €15,000. At a car dealer in the EU, a cash payment above €10,000 is then not allowed, even if you spread it over two appointments. If you buy the same car from a private individual who is not acting commercially, the limit does not apply.

Gold coins for €2,500. Under the regulation alone this stays below the European ID threshold of €3,000 for an occasional cash transaction, which from July 2027 applies in every member state. A dealer may still ask for ID under its own policy, and further purchases linked to the first are added up.

A cash deposit of €12,000 from an inheritance. At the bank counter it stays allowed. The bank does report the amount to the financial intelligence unit, though, and it will usually ask where the money comes from. With the grant of probate and the estate papers to hand, you answer the question in a minute.

Changing money into dollars before a trip. Up to just under €3,000 as a one-off exchange without an ID requirement under the European threshold, above that with ID. Several exchanges in the same month for the same trip are added up by the bureau de change.

In Sweden, Denmark and Finland the same European rules apply from July 2027, because the regulation applies directly in every member state. Norway is in the EEA but not in the EU; at the time of writing the EFTA database lists the regulation as still under scrutiny for incorporation into the EEA Agreement. In the UK, the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 remain the measure, and in Switzerland Swiss anti-money laundering law.

What this means for your privacy

From 2027 cash remains the most discreet means of payment for everyday life. For larger amounts it loses that role. Already today every border crossing with €10,000 or more leaves a declaration behind. From July 2027 every cash deposit over €10,000 at a bank counter in the EU leaves a report to the financial intelligence unit, and every cash purchase of €3,000 or more from an obliged entity leaves an ID check.

That does not mean privacy in payments becomes impossible. It shifts from hiding to structuring: which bank in which country holds which data about you is a question you can shape legally. Which forms of discretion are permitted and where the line to tax evasion runs is explained in discreet banking: using financial privacy legally. Why the anonymous account is a myth and what the legal alternative is can be found in the anonymous account myth. And which data about your accounts already goes automatically to tax authorities today is shown in CRS explained.

What to prepare now

1. Be able to show where it comes from. Anyone with larger amounts of cash, for example from an inheritance or a sale, should document the origin before paying it in or spending it.
2. Plan larger purchases without cash. From July 2027 cash payments to dealers in the EU stop at €10,000, and in the UK a dealer must be registered before it can take that much.
3. Do not split. Split payments are added up and look more suspicious than one large payment made openly.
4. Declare cash when travelling. Always from €10,000 when leaving or entering the EU, from £10,000 between Great Britain and any other country, and above NOK 25,000 when entering or leaving Norway.

Anyone who prefers to spread their liquidity across accounts in several countries rather than hold it in cash will find the basics in opening a bank account abroad. An account abroad is legal, and income stays taxable in your country of residence. Which split suits your situation is something we clarify with you in the free consultation, and you will receive a written assessment within 48 hours.