The average acceptance rate across Europe stands at 92 per cent, slightly up from 90 per cent in 2024. Cash is now even more widely accepted than bank cards (88 per cent) and mobile payment methods (68 per cent). The latter category has seen a substantial increase compared to two years ago (36 per cent).
In Greece and Italy (each 99 per cent), businesses still accept the most cash. In Belgium (81 per cent) and especially Cyprus (76 per cent), the acceptance is the lowest.
The main reason cited by companies for no longer accepting cash is that customers use it too infrequently, and that depositing or withdrawing cash has become difficult or cumbersome. Safety risks are also mentioned as a reason for refusal.
The sectors where cash is most widely accepted are hospitality and retail (93 per cent). In Belgium, the acceptance rate at restaurants and cafés is only 80 per cent, the second-lowest level (the Netherlands 78 per cent). In retail, cash acceptance in our country is 83 per cent, which is also the lowest in Europe, along with Austria.
The ECB also surveyed future plans, revealing that a large proportion of Belgian SMEs (more than 90 per cent) intend to continue accepting cash within the next five years. In Cyprus, this figure is less than half.
The initial translation of this content was generated by AI. All facts, context, and language have subsequently been verified and validated by a human editorial team.
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