Cash is probably one of the dirtiest, most germ-infested things you carry around. Indeed, cash passes, by definition, through many different hands and places, as transactions occur. This is why payment by card, and in particular contactless, has experienced a very marked increase during the health crisis.
But the relative lull in the health crisis is seeing an upsurge in cash payments, with consumers being, probably by tradition, very far from considering the end of cash. Indeed, according to an Ifop survey carried out for the Monnaie de Paris, nearly 83% of French people say they are “attached to cash”, as reported by Europe 1.
Many craftsmen, movers, mechanics or even taxi drivers ask their customers to pay them in cash, according to Capital. In some cases, they will offer a nice discount against payment in cash rather than by card. The reason ? This makes it very easy for them not to declare this inflow of money, which allows them to pay less tax! They thus escape the payment of VAT, social security contributions and income tax.
It is totally forbidden in France to refuse payment in cash, which is not the case everywhere… In the United Kingdom, for example, there are more and more stores that only accept payment by card. Payment in cash is however subject to different ceilings in France. For professional transactions, the official limit is raised to 1,000 euros, and to 15,000 euros in the event that the tax domicile of the debtor is abroad.
If the bank card is easier to use, when they are not imposed on you, it is better to pay in cash in certain situations, which you can find below.
