More than 3000 euros in cash no longer accepted: 'Otherwise a drain for black money'

Paying and then receiving 3000 euros in cash or more? That's not going to happen anymore, if you're in business. That news was discussed in Nieuws van de Dag last night. Why is that measure in place?

The Senate passed a law that prohibits entrepreneurs from accepting cash above 3000 euros to prevent money laundering. Martin Visser of the Financial Telegraph explained in Nieuws van de Dag (SBS6) why this is the case.

So anyone who sees a nice car and has a lot of cash on them, can no longer pay with it. The aim is to have the law come into effect on 1 January.

As far as the younger generation in the Netherlands is concerned, cash is a thing of the past, Metro wrote yesterday . Almost three in ten Gen Zers (29 percent) no longer use a physical wallet at all. They rely on digital wallets and contactless payments with their mobile. 28 percent even think that we should get rid of cash completely within a year.

The message about no longer being allowed to pay in cash above 3000 euros, however, concerns entrepreneurs. On Rijksoverheid.nl you can read about private individuals: 'The ban only applies to transactions with or between traders in goods, such as shopkeepers. Private individuals who sell something to another private individual, for example via Marktplaats, are not covered by this ban.'

The European guideline for cash in payments to and between entrepreneurs is 10,000 euros, says Martin Visser. A much lower amount was chosen to combat money laundering. "If we (the Netherlands, ed.) set ourselves very high, we might become the drain for black money."

Visser realizes that enforcement will be a weak point in this new law. "Of course the FIOD has to be on this, you have to keep a close eye on this."

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