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The president of the Denaria platform, Javier Rupérez, said on Monday that the limit of 1,000 euros for cash payments that exists in Spain is not updated with inflation and is not even enough to buy some televisions or household appliances.
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At the opening of the conference 'Financial inclusion in Spain. Cash as a safe and sustainable solution', organised in Madrid by the Denaria Platform, which defends the use of cash and the population's access to it, Rupérez recalled that the European Commission (EC) recommends that the limit should be up to 10,000 euros, the same as a non-resident can pay in Spain.
At the conference, which brought together representatives of associations for people with disabilities, Down's syndrome, farmers and rural women, Rupérez said that in Spain ‘there are laws against cash, which could be described as illegal’, although this may seem ‘a contradiction’.
He pointed out that the Housing Law prohibits paying rent in cash, and also that a self-employed worker cannot deduct the daily menu if they have paid for it in cash, just as a family cannot deduct the cost of kitchen work in their home if they have paid for it in cash.
Rupérez said that more and more countries such as Sweden, the United Kingdom and Austria are promoting legislation that makes it compulsory to accept the use of cash and guarantees access to ATMs by establishing maximum distances between them.
In his opinion, ‘Spain should follow the same path’ and he pointed out that the use of cash not only has an economic projection, but also a ‘social and human transcendence’, as it facilitates the inclusion of millions of people.
He said that access to cash is becoming increasingly difficult because of greater problems in finding a cash machine or a bank branch, especially in rural areas.
He also pointed out that, despite the undeniable values of cash, which he said is faster and more secure against cybercrime and counterfeiting, and that refusing to accept it is punishable, Denaria receives daily complaints from people who are refused the option of paying in cash.
He pointed out that these include airlines, city buses, sports facilities such as municipal swimming pools or the payment of drinks at music festivals with wristbands that then hinder the reimbursement of the amount that has not been consumed.
For her part, the fourth secretary of the Congress of Deputies and PP deputy, Carmen Navarro, announced that her group is going to present an initiative to establish a day dedicated to the use of cash, which will promote its use on that day, and which will serve to raise awareness and give visibility to the need for the use of cash for many groups.