Becoming a cashless society would not solve France's problems

In May 2025, Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin told a Senate commission that one radical way to tackle drug trafficking would be to ban cash.

A “drastic reduction, or even the elimination of cash”, he argued, “would allow for better traceability”. 

There is no doubt that cash is becoming less commonly used, but could France ban it entirely? 

In 2024, for the first time there were more card payments in France than cash transactions, according to the Banque de France. 

“Covid was a very powerful boost for cashless payments. Overnight, small retailers moved from a (spending) limit that was mostly €5 or €10, to €1 or no limit at all,” said Patrice Baubeau, associate professor of economic history at Paris Nanterre University.

“This movement towards a cashless society has been accelerated.” 

Over the past decade, France has steadily made it more difficult to use cash for many different kinds of payments.

“You cannot buy a car with cash, you cannot buy a house or real estate with cash, you cannot pay wages over a certain amount with cash; there have been more and more restrictions on the use of cash over time.”

Many cash payments are capped at €1,000 in France. An EU-wide limit of €10,000 is set to come into force in 2027.

But public opinion is against going entirely cashless: 60% of people think it is important or very important to have access to cash for privacy reasons, according to a Banque de France study. 

“I don’t think it is possible to have an economy that is fully scripted, where you can trace every transaction to someone,” said Professor Baubeau. 

Early adopters of electronic banking and cashless payments, such as Sweden, have realised the cashless ideal is not without its flaws. 

Today, only one in every 10 purchases are made with cash in Sweden, but there are fears the focus on digital payments could be a threat to national security. The government has even recommended people keep a stash of cash on hand in case of emergencies.

“By moving that fast, they discovered problems,” said Professor Baubeau. 

The phasing out of cash also increases inequalities, Sweden discovered.

“People who are richer, or more digitally savvy, are able to easily use their smart phones to access these new forms of paying.

“[But for] older people, poorer people, people on the margins of society, it creates terrible problems. It is not money itself which is the issue, but money reveals the social barriers and limitations people face.”

The phasing out of cash would affect those who have poor internet service, are older or who live in more rural areas. 

Band branch closures and services going online have already eliminated much of the human contact that could help these vulnerable people use digital banking. 

“For people who are losing cognitive faculties the world is moving too fast for them, they need human contact, someone to guide them, and that is disappearing, so if we go fully cashless some of these people may be really lost.” 

Would there be any positives of going cashless?

“Globally, for the whole economy, cash is costly – you have to move it, you have to print or to coin it, you have to fight counterfeiters,” he said.

Nevertheless Professor Baubeau is not in favour of France completely banning cash. 

“I think it would be a bad idea, but that does not mean that cash as we know it now will not completely disappear.”

Indeed, it is for the very reason Minister Darmanin suggested phasing out cash – to eliminate its role in crimes such as drug trafficking – that cash is likely to make a “comeback”.

But not necessarily in the form of bank notes or coins, Professor Baubeau said.

“If the state takes full control of money then people will create new forms of money to fit their needs.

“We have to take into account innovation. Money is a flow, there is nothing fixed and people will find solutions.

“It is highly probable that bank notes and coins as we know them now will be completely forgotten in 10 or 15 or 20 years, but in the meantime other forms of cash will appear, because people are calling for that. Drug consumption is not going to cease because cash has disappeared.” 

From cryptocurrencies to electronic wallets that can be loaded with an amount of cash, other forms are already becoming more popular.

“Crypto could evolve as a kind of cash. I’m quite certain that that kind of thing is coming, and coming fast.”