Cash blow. We have three years to adapt
At the end of May, the Council of the European Union adopted regulations providing, among others, for: limiting cash payments. Member States have three years to adapt to the changes.
Earlier this year, the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament reached a preliminary agreement on tightening rules on counteracting money laundering, terrorist financing and the avoidance of sanctions. An element of these regulations is the limitation of cash payments, the upper limit of which is set at PLN 10,000. euro for all Community countries.
The regulations were passed by MEPs a month ago. At the end of May, the regulations were adopted by the Council of the European Union. – New and more stringent rules will strengthen our systems to fight money laundering and terrorist financing – assessed the Minister of Finance of Belgium, Vincent Van Peteghem.
Cash payment limits. Three years to adapt
The changes assume that when an entrepreneur is a party to the transaction, cash payments will only be possible up to PLN 10,000. euro (approx. PLN 43,000). Mandatory customer verification will also be introduced for expenses above PLN 3,000. euro (approx. PLN 13,000).
The changes will now be published in the Official Journal of the European Union. They will enter into force immediately, but Member States have three years to adapt to the new rules.
After the European Parliament's decision, there were many comments regarding possible surveillance. Some Internet users fear that EU plans will lead to the elimination of cash. – We have been losing privacy for several years. Consciously when we publish photos on social networking sites and unconsciously when our phones log in to base stations or we walk around the city and are recorded by CCTV for safety. Therefore, there is no question of surveillance. This is part of technological development – commented Robert Łaniewski, president of the Foundation for the Development of Cashless Transactions, in an interview with Money.pl.
Poles do not want to give up cash
A recent survey by SW Research for “Wprost” shows that nearly 70 percent of Poles would not be willing to give up using cash in favor of only cashless payments. Less than 23 percent declare their readiness to pay only in cashless ways. The remaining 8 percent have no opinion.
