The European Union is introducing sweeping new restrictions on cash payments and customer identification under its latest anti-money-laundering framework, Regulation (EU) 2024/1624, adopted in 2024 and set to apply from July 10, 2027.
Beginning that date, businesses trading goods or providing services in the EU will be barred from accepting or making cash payments above €10,000, either in a single transaction or several linked payments, when acting in their professional capacity, according to a summary by the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit.
Member States may introduce or retain lower national limits, and purely private transactions between individuals acting in a non-professional capacity are exempt.
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The regulation also lowers thresholds for customer identity checks. “Obliged entities” — including financial institutions, high-value goods traders, crypto-asset service providers, and certain professionals — must verify a customer’s identity for cash transactions of €3,000 or more, according to a Compliance 360 briefing.
For “occasional transactions” that are not part of an ongoing business relationship, the threshold for full customer due diligence has been reduced from €15,000 to €10,000, the analysis says.
EU officials say the new framework aims to harmonize anti-money-laundering rules across the bloc and curb illicit flows that exploit disparities between national systems. The measure complements the creation of a new EU Anti-Money Laundering Authority, based in Frankfurt, which will oversee high-risk entities and coordinate national regulators.
The reform is a major shift for European businesses dealing in luxury goods or cross-border services, which will need to upgrade compliance systems before 2027. Supporters argue that uniform cash-transaction limits will close loopholes exploited by money-launderers; critics warn that it could limit consumer freedom and penalize legitimate cash users.
In practice, a merchant in France or Spain will no longer be able to accept a cash payment of €12,000 for goods or services after July 2027. If a customer pays €8,000 in cash, the seller must record and verify the payer’s identity because the amount exceeds the €3,000 ID-check threshold. Private, non-commercial exchanges between individuals — such as one-off sales of used items — remain outside the EU-wide cap, though some countries already impose stricter limits.
The European Commission said the unified ceiling will “make it harder for criminals to launder dirty money” while giving businesses clearer compliance standards across all 27 Member States.
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