Payment by Cash or Card? Restrictions on Cash Circulation in European Union Law in the Perspective of the Right not To Use the Internet

Abstract

The tension between freedom of choice of means of payment and the protection of financial security in the public sphere is becoming increasingly apparent in European Union law. The scales are tipping toward restricting freedom of choice in favor of strengthening security and the control of public authorities over financial flows. The article presents an analysis of the new European Union legislation and its legal implications for national laws and individuals. From 2027, the maximum amount of cash payments in EU countries will be €10,000, And transactions above this amount will have to be made exclusively in non-cash form. In addition, there will also be an obligation to verify the customers identity for cash transactions exceeding €3,000. The revolutionary change is the adoption of the validity of this rule also in the turnover of private persons, and not only with entrepreneurs. This means a forced increase in the scale of electronic money circulation and the need for Internet access without which it is not possible to use electronic banking or other payment applications. A fundamental question arises about the proportionality of restricting cash circulation in the context of the right not to use the Internet. Everyone should be free to decide how to use the network and the services available on it. The EU legislator does not seem to recognize the existing technical and economic difficulties in co mmunities experiencing digital exclusion. The purpose of the article will be to examine to what extent the principles of European law and the envisaged regulatory freedom of member states can possibly provide freedom of choice for noncash forms of payment without the use of the Internet.