Civics: Three questions about cash restrictions

Guillaume Lepecq:

Cash is trustOn September 1st 2015, the French government lowered the cap on cash payments from €3,000 to €1,000. The new rule applies both to business-to-consumer and business-to-business transactions; consumer-to-consumer transactions are not affected. For non-residents, the limit is €15,000.

France is one of the first countries to have introduced restrictions on cash payments as early as 2001. However, particularly in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis, many countries have followed the French lead as illustrated by the table below. In Germany, a plan to introduce a limit on cash transactions has been met with fierce resistance across the country. The economic weekly magazine made this their cover story in February titled “Save Cash”.