Cash is making something of a post-pandemic comeback in Europe even as mobile banking surges, says new central banking data.
And privacy concerns are driving the revival across the eurozone, a new European Central Bank (ECB) survey shows.
It says cash’s popularity is enjoying a post-pandemic ‘bounce’ with 92% of physical stores accepting it.
Click here to read the survey in full
This year, 92% of non-online EU companies in the retail, dining (restaurant/café), hospitality (hotels), arts, entertainment and recreation sectors said they accept money compared to 90% in 2024.
The Frankfurt-based ECB says that cash remains the most widely accepted method of payment in the 21-nation eurozone.
CASH FUTURE STILL STRONG
It says 92% of companies with physical stores expect to keep accepting cash in the next five years compared to 6% who say they will not.
Small and medium shops in Cyprus (51%), Greece (23%) and Bulgaria (18%) were the most likely to go digital only in future.
Card payments remained largely stable at 88% from 2024 to 2026 while mobile payments rose from 36% to 68% for companies.
At the same time, 25% of eurozone companies say they are adopting digital payments such as new cashless tills or reducing the number of cash tills while 13% of companies have self-checkout terminals.
The ECB says companies most commonly cite consumer preference, security and ease of handling as the main factors in accept cash.
A comparison of companies handling both cash and card/phone banking found that most (30-40%) found no difference between the different payments while cash came out on top for at least 20% of companies.
The survey covered 8205 companies across all 21 eurozone member countries and was conducted between February and April this year.
AUSTRALIAN SITUATION
The Reserve Bank of Australia says that for the year ending June 2026, the total of ATM withdrawals for retail payments fell 1.8% compared to a 0.7% fall for the year before that (June 2025).
Card transactions rose 3.8% in June 2026 with debit card uses up 4.6% compared to 1.5% for credit and after-pay cards.
The RBA’s June 2026 quarterly figures also show that merchant fees for debit cards rose between 0.43% to 0.59% while for credit cards, those fees ranged from 0.99% to 1.36%
THE EUROZONE: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain.
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