Cash in the supermarket: Withdrawing without shopping is now easier!

Cash in the supermarket: Withdrawing without shopping is now easier!

The EU has adopted new rules to significantly improve access to cash and offer consumers more protection against fraud. These changes, which are particularly important for rural regions, aim to make cash withdrawals easier and more transparent, as gailtal-journal.at reports.

In the future, bank customers will be able to withdraw between 100 and 150 euros without having to make a purchase in the store. This is intended to help people living in areas where ATMs are not available. The new rules also help increase transparency in banking services by requiring all applicable fees to be clearly displayed before each payment transaction.

Focus on consumer protection

The new EU rules not only improve access to cash, but also protect against hidden costs and attempted fraud. The changes are part of a comprehensive package to strengthen consumer rights and have already been agreed by negotiators from the European Parliament and EU states. However, formal confirmation is still pending, as t-online.de explains.

A central point of this regulation is that consumers must be clearly informed in advance of all fees that arise when paying with a card or withdrawing money from an ATM. Exchange rate information must also be provided to customers when withdrawing in foreign currencies. In addition, identity verification for transfers will be more strictly regulated to prevent fraud.

Growth in cash withdrawals

Interest in cash withdrawals at store checkouts is constantly growing. In 2024, cash payouts in Germany rose to 12.31 billion euros, with payouts averaging around 100 euros. Retailers such as Aldi, Lidl and Rewe already enable cash withdrawals as part of a purchase transaction. This situation could be further promoted by the new EU rules, as computerbild.de highlights.

The German banking industry recommends that at least 20 euros should be possible, but this is not a mandatory requirement. Merchants' implementation of the new rules will depend on final approval from the EU institutions, which is an interesting development for consumers.

Overall, this represents progress for the European financial landscape by improving access to cash while reducing dangerous payment practices. It remains to be seen how quickly the new regulations will be implemented in practice.