Cash acceptance among euro area shops and service businesses has edged up to 92% in 2026, following a decline during and after the Covid-19 pandemic.
The figure covers companies with physical points of sale in retail, restaurants and cafés, hotels, and arts, entertainment and recreation, the European Central Bank said on Thursday.
It compares with 90% in 2024, according to the ECB’s latest survey.
Cash remained the most widely accepted payment method overall in the euro area.
Card acceptance was broadly unchanged at 88% between 2024 and 2026.
Acceptance of mobile payments rose to 68% of companies in 2026 from 36% in 2024.
Digital payment options expand
A quarter of companies said they had taken steps to promote digital payments, including investing in tills that accept cashless payments or reducing the number of tills that accept cash, the ECB reported.
It said 13% of businesses had introduced self-checkout terminals.
Businesses most often cited consumer preference, security and ease of handling when deciding which payment methods to accept, the survey found.
Companies continued to cite privacy and reliability as key advantages of cash compared with digital payment methods.
The survey covered 8,205 companies across all 21 euro area countries, with interviews conducted between February and April 2026.
