February 10 2016
Germany and France want to impose a Europe-wide ban on cash transactions of more than €5,000 ($5,600) in order to better prevent money-laundering and terrorist financing, German finance minister Wolfgang Schauble told the press after meeting with French colleagues on Tuesday.
France has a limit of €1,000 on cash transactions, which was lowered from €3,000 after the terrorist attacks on Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish supermarket in January 2015. The country also lowered its cash transaction limit for tourists from €15,000 to €10,000.
While Germany, along with Austria, is one of a minority of EU member states that currently do not have a limit on cash transactions, France now has one of the strictest caps. In 2011 Italy banned cash payments over €1,000, and in 2012 Spain capped cash payments to €2,500 for residents and €15,000 for non-residents.