Cash is more than just a means of payment. It is freedom in your pocket. It is self-determination, privacy – a piece of independence in a world that is becoming increasingly transparent. And it is precisely this freedom that is now under attack.

What is being sold as a fight against money laundering is actually hitting the wrong people: tradespeople, pensioners, young families – people who pay with cash completely legally. From 2027, this will be banned for amounts over £10,000. As if everyone who pays in cash is a criminal. This is absurd – and dangerous.

Because the real threat does not come from our wallets, but from the cloud. Digital money laundering, crypto fraud, fake identities – that is where the billion-dollar transactions take place, not in the cash sale of a used small car. Anyone who ignores this is fighting a forest fire with a water pistol.

Cash needs no updates, no internet connection, no electricity. It always works – crisis-proof, anonymous, democratic. It protects the vulnerable who do not trust digital systems or simply cannot participate. And it protects our freedom to decide for ourselves how we handle our money.

The EU rules on cash restrictions may sound modern, but in reality they are backward-looking. They criminalise everyday life, but leave the real criminals on the internet to do as they please.

The BDGW sums it up: Cash is not the problem, but rather the blind fixation on it. BDGW chairman Michael Mewes says what many are thinking: While legal cash users are monitored and harassed, money laundering is flourishing in digital spaces – via social networks, AI-supported scams and international financial channels. The Dark Economy Report confirms that 78% of experts see AI as an accelerator for new forms of fraud, while 76% cite social platforms as a gateway for criminals.

Nevertheless, the EU is ignoring reality. Instead of developing modern, data-based strategies against digital money laundering, cash users are being placed under general suspicion – without evidence, without proportionality. This is not only ineffective, but also socially dangerous.

If we want to protect our freedom, we must preserve cash – and focus our attention where crime really takes place: online, invisible, global. The BDGW is right: financial crime needs modern solutions, not old reflexes. [ml]