Will cash be banned in the UK from 2027? Checking the claim

A claim keeps circulating that the UK will ban cash from 2027. We checked it against the primary sources. There is no such law and no such bill, and the 2027 date comes from a document that does not apply to the UK at all.

Will cash be banned in the UK from 2027?

No. No UK law abolishes cash or sets a date after which it cannot be used. The Bank of England continues to issue banknotes and states on its digital pound page that it will keep issuing cash "for as long as people want to keep using it". In its response to the Treasury Committee, published on 12 July 2025, the government said it is committed to ensuring consumers and businesses have a choice of payment methods.

So where does 2027 come from?

From EU law. Regulation (EU) 2024/1624 on anti-money laundering applies from 10 July 2027. That is the date doing the rounds online — but it belongs to EU member states, and the UK is not one of them.

Even in the EU it is not a ban. Article 80 sets a ceiling: a person trading in goods or providing services may accept or make a cash payment only up to EUR 10,000, whether in one operation or in several linked ones. Member States may set lower limits. Crucially, the same article says the limit does not apply to payments between natural persons who are not acting in a professional capacity.

Are there cash rules in the UK?

Yes, but different ones, and long-standing. A business that accepts or makes cash payments of 10,000 euros or more, or the equivalent, must register with HMRC as a high value dealer before doing so. That is a registration and due-diligence duty on the trader, not a ban on cash.

The second rule is at the border. You must declare cash of £10,000 or more when entering Great Britain from outside the UK or when leaving. For Northern Ireland the threshold is EUR 10,000 on journeys to or from non-EU countries. A family or group must declare if their combined cash reaches the threshold.

Will the digital pound replace cash?

The Bank of England answers in four words: "It would not replace cash." No decision to issue it has been taken. The project is in its design phase, the earliest possible issuance is the second half of this decade, and the decision due in 2026 is only about whether to move to a build phase.

Must shops accept cash?

No — and that is the real issue the rumour obscures. No law obliges a business to accept cash, and the government declined to introduce such an obligation, citing industry evidence that cash acceptance remains high, including a British Retail Consortium survey in which every respondent still accepted cash in physical stores. The Equality Act 2010 does not mandate cash acceptance, though businesses must make reasonable adjustments for disabled customers.

How to spot the next one

The pattern repeats: a dramatic date with no document behind it, no act number, no gov.uk link; a rule from another jurisdiction presented as British law; and a video of a politician "announcing" it. Full Fact examined a similar clip claiming digital ID would be needed for purchases over £20 and found the Prime Minister's voice in it had been generated by artificial intelligence. If a law is real, it sits on gov.uk or legislation.gov.uk under its own number.