Should help in the fight against money laundering. Talks with representatives of the member states.
Cash remains popular.
Is there an EU-wide limit for cash payments coming soon? The EU Commission is exploring this idea in talks with representatives of the member states. In a discussion paper that the AFP news agency received on Monday, a limit of 10,000 euros is listed as a possible effective measure against money laundering.
The Commission points out that most EU countries already have such rules in place, with 18 of the 27 Member States having or about to introduce ceilings between EUR 500 and EUR 15,000 at national level for cash payments. On average, these limits are 4,700 euros.
Distortion of competition
“Different national restrictions lead to distortions of competition in the internal market,” said the Commission. Merchants in countries with cash limits would be left behind compared to competitors in neighboring countries where there are no restrictions. Another risk is “forum shopping” by criminals who conduct their business where the rules are more relaxed.
According to AFP information, the Commission presented the document, which is expressly identified as a basis for discussion and not as a position paper, on Friday to the EU countries' expert group on money laundering and terrorist financing. So there is still a long way to go before a concrete legislative proposal and its implementation.
Displeasure in Germany
In Germany, where cash is even more important as a means of payment than in most other EU countries, there was nevertheless resentment. “Superfluous and irritating” is the advance from Brussels, said Wolfgang Steiger, General Secretary of the Business Council of the CDU. “There is no reliable evidence that cash limits have any significant effect on undeclared work or money laundering”.
Austria, the country of cash
Austria, along with Germany, Spain, Portugal, Malta, Greece, Cyprus and Italy, is one of the most “cash-heavy” countries in Europe – the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB) only pointed this out in December. According to the ECB data, the share of cash in Austria is 79 percent (based on the number of transactions) and 58 percent (based on the transaction value), still well above the euro area average (73 percent number; 48 percent value), according to the OeNB .
