The Austrian government supports the EU Commission's plans to establish an agency to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, but does not believe in an upper limit for cash transactions: "We reject a general upper limit and thus a de facto criminalization of cash," said Finance Minister Gernot Blümel (ÖVP) on Thursday in Vienna.

Cash gives people a feeling of security, independence and freedom.

"We want to preserve this freedom for people."

Andreas Mihm

Business correspondent for Austria, East-Central and Southeastern Europe and Turkey based in Vienna.

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The opinion of Austrians on the limitation of cash payments is less clear, however, as a survey presented by the ministry shows. Bills and coins play a major role despite advertising for card payments. "Actually, the pandemic has changed the attitudes and behavior towards cash relatively little," says pollster Peter Hajek. People are uncertain about upper limits on cash payments: 47 percent are skeptical, 35 percent thought they were welcome, the rest have no opinion. However, 44 percent of the skeptical cannot justify their position.

Hajek attributed this to the fact that the topic is currently not being widely debated.

When asked whether the “possibility to keep cash” should be retained, the vast majority of respondents answered in the affirmative, only in the group of under 30-year-olds were 14 percent “less” or “not at all in favor”.

The question is of little use as a political justification, and the abolition of cash payments is not an issue in Brussels either.

Commission plans 10,000 euros

Blumel's view, however, is clear. He doubts whether a general upper limit for payments with cash - the Commission is planning to do this from 10,000 euros - makes sense and helps to better combat illegal transactions. The latest developments in cyber and computer crime have shown that criminals are relying more on digital currencies: “The crypto sector would have to be regulated much more tightly.” In addition, there are already upper limits for paying bills with cash in sensitive business areas in Austria. A maximum of 500 euros has been in effect on construction since 2016; in other sectors that are viewed as sensitive, such as the anonymous buying of gold, it starts at 10,000 euros.

Blümel justified the retention of the current regime as follows: Cash offers financial security even in the event of a failure of the digital banking infrastructure. The argument “embossed freedom” should not be ignored either. At the beginning of the pandemic, its consistency proved to be true when people increasingly hoarded cash. Last but not least, holding cash could be "the last barrier against escalating negative interest rates" in order to prevent the saved from losing value even faster. However, the minister restricted this argument insofar as he preceded it that it was "rather economic-theoretical".

In 18 of the 27 EU countries there are upper limits for paying with cash. They range from 500 euros in Greece to 15,000 euros in Croatia. In the other nine countries, including Germany, there is no limit. On the question of where the anti-money laundering authority should be located, Blümel had already spoken out against Frankfurt. It is “not automatic” that it will be located in a large financial center. He promoted a location in the euro zone, "where people also know their way around well enough in those countries that are not yet in the euro zone". Sounded like Vienna.