Amendment to the Cash Payments Act effective from 1 July 2023

Act No. 394/2012 Coll. on the Limitation of Cash Payments, which sets out rules on restricting the use of cash payments, took effect on 1 January 2013.

An amendment to this act, effective from 1 July 2023, has unified the restriction on cash payments at a value exceeding €15,000 for both individuals and legal entities.

Under this act, making any cash payments is prohibited, except in precisely defined cases set out in the act.

The ban applies not only to payments for the sale of goods and the provision of services, but also to loan payments, debt repayments, shareholders’ contributions to share capital, payouts of profit shares, payments of deposits and advances, and the like. However, a cash-on-delivery payment or a credit card payment is not considered a cash payment.

Under the act, a cash payment means the handing over of banknotes or coins in euros, or banknotes or coins in another currency, by the payer and the acceptance of that cash by the recipient. In the case of a currency other than the euro, the value of the cash payment is determined on the basis of the nominal value of the banknotes and coins, converted into euros at the reference exchange rate set and announced by the European Central Bank or the National Bank of Slovakia (Národná banka Slovenska), valid on the day before the day of the cash payment.

If the ban on cash payments is breached, the following penalties are imposed: if an individual who is not an entrepreneur breaches this act, they will be fined up to €10,000 for a minor offence. If an individual who is an entrepreneur, or a legal entity, breaches this act, they will be fined up to €150,000 for an administrative offence.