Overview

• The coalition agreement commits merchants to offer cash and at least one digital option, framing legal choice of payment as a policy goal rather than curbing cash.
• A mandatory cash-register requirement for businesses with more than €100,000 in annual turnover is set to start on January 1, 2027 to record revenues more reliably.
• A survey reported by Chip.de finds roughly half of respondents support a legal card-acceptance obligation, 44% oppose it, with far stronger backing among 16–29-year-olds.
• The Bundesbank promotes a digital euro with consumer wallets likely capped below €3,000 and a hoped-for launch around 2028, while stressing cash’s role as an outage-proof fallback.
• Modern machines can read euro banknote serial numbers, enabling note tracing that the Bundesbank can use in specific cases, a practice flagged by privacy advocates as likely to become entrenched.