Cash Access and the New Legal Frontiers
Jul 15, 2025
By Frane Maroevic, Director General, International Currency Association
Governments across continents are waking up to the manufactured scarcity of cash—think mass closures of bank branches and a shrinking ATM network, as well as unparalleled marketing and lobbying from card giants, all nudging society to go digital.
But 2025 is proving that when policy and public opinion converge, cash doesn't vanish quietly. It rallies.
Moving Beyond Rhetoric: Concrete Steps for Everyday Access
The battle for cash now centres on securing both practical access and universal acceptance, creating an infrastructure where cash remains a viable, everyday option:
- Central and Eastern Europe are leading by example:
- Hungary amended its constitution in 2025, making cash payments a fundamental right. The law obliges banks to maintain a geographically balanced ATM network and sets minimum coverage standards—even in rural areas—while requiring most businesses to accept cash except for almost exclusively digital transactions.
- Austria is currently considering legislation for constitutional protection following a prominent citizens’ petition, with the aim of future-proofing cash access against unwanted digital-only mandates.
- Slovakia’s constitution now stipulates that everyone has the right to use cash for goods and services, enshrining protection as a direct response to digital payment pressures.
- Slovenia is actively debating legislation to recognise cash access as a human right.
- Hungary amended its constitution in 2025, making cash payments a fundamental right. The law obliges banks to maintain a geographically balanced ATM network and sets minimum coverage standards—even in rural areas—while requiring most businesses to accept cash except for almost exclusively digital transactions.
- In Western Europe:
- Belgium now requires banks to guarantee 95% of the population lives within 5 km of an ATM, reversing years of unchecked cuts. The law also guarantees you can deposit as well as withdraw cash, helping keep notes and coins in active use.
- France, Denmark, and Norway have strict laws mandating cash acceptance across almost all retail businesses, with Norway reinforcing its rules as recently as 2024.
- Spain mandates that businesses must accept cash for transactions up to €1,000.
- The Netherlands is on the verge of a legal milestone: mandatory cash acceptance for all consumer-facing businesses, with the final legislation expected to pass in 2025.
- Belgium now requires banks to guarantee 95% of the population lives within 5 km of an ATM, reversing years of unchecked cuts. The law also guarantees you can deposit as well as withdraw cash, helping keep notes and coins in active use.
- Ireland’s new Access to Cash Act puts the Central Bank in charge of enforcing ATM and cash service coverage, holding banks and service providers accountable for preventing "cash deserts" and ensuring standards on uptime, replenishment, and reliability.
- Northern Europe has pivoted too. Sweden, once seen as the prime candidate for a cashless society, has reversed course. Recent digital failures and public concern prompted the Riksbank to push for legal mandates so supermarkets, pharmacies, fuel stations, and public services must accept cash.
Beyond Europe: America’s Patchwork & Federal Progress
Across the Atlantic, cash protection in the United States is evolving through a mix of local laws and federal proposals:
- State and Local Laws: Eighteen states, including New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Arizona have enacted laws prohibiting retail businesses from refusing cash payments. Major cities like New York, San Francisco, and Philadelphia have their own ordinances requiring cash acceptance, primarily to protect the unbanked and underbanked.
- Federal Action—The Payment Choice Act: The Payment Choice Act, which has been debated in Congress for several years, would, if passed, require all retail businesses nationwide to accept cash for purchases up to $500. This act aims to safeguard payment choice, ensure consumer inclusion, and create a national baseline so no American is ever forced to pay digitally against their will.
The New Standard: More Than Withdrawal
Modern policy isn’t just about consumers being able to get cash, but about keeping it practical for day-to-day life:
- ATM networks must be robust and accessible, with requirements for regional distribution in some countries.
- Cash deposit rights are protected in places like Belgium—the system must work both ways, allowing coins and notes to remain in circulation.
- Ongoing supply of small coins and notes is recognised as crucial for exact payments and budgeting, especially among vulnerable populations.
- Penalties for non-acceptance: There is a need to enforce fines for businesses that refuse cash.
The momentum in 2025 shows that cash is a public good and an essential tool for inclusion, privacy, and resilience. Governments are recognising that building a digital-first economy must never mean leaving anyone behind.
The global shift from constitutional amendments to granular infrastructure mandates and teeth-bearing laws affirm that choice, trust, and real accessibility should define the payments landscape of the future.
Source: European Economic Area Cash Legislation Initiatives 2022-2024 — a brief by the International Mint Industry Association