European Central BankThe European Central Bank reports that 92% of surveyed euro-area companies with physical points of sale accepted cash in 2026, up from 90% in 2024. Card acceptance remained at 88%, while mobile-payment acceptance rose from 36% to 68%. The survey covered 8,205 companies across all 21 euro-area countries.
Companies accepting cash
Companies accepting cards
Mobile-payment acceptance
Survey sample
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# Cash remains most widely accepted payment method in euro area > Evidence tier: B1 > Evidence type: Official European Central Bank press release and survey summary > Source: [European Central Bank](https://www.ecb.europa.eu//press/pr/date/2026/html/ecb.pr260813~389729d6a9.en.html) > Published: 2026-08-13 > Captured: 2026-08-18T14:17:34.482Z ## Source summary The European Central Bank reports that 92% of surveyed euro-area companies with physical points of sale accepted cash in 2026, up from 90% in 2024. Card acceptance remained at 88%, while mobile-payment acceptance rose from 36% to 68%. The survey covered 8,205 companies across all 21 euro-area countries. ## Why it matters The survey is a useful benchmark for merchant payment-method acceptance and the speed of mobile-payment adoption in the euro area. It is not a cross-border corridor or settlement study, and acceptance does not measure transaction share, value, consumer preference at checkout or the economics of any individual payment provider. ## Key numbers - **Companies accepting cash:** 92% - **Companies accepting cards:** 88% - **Mobile-payment acceptance:** 68%, up from 36% in 2024 - **Survey sample:** 8,205 companies in 21 countries ## Topics and entities - Industry lane: Payment infrastructure - Entities: European Central Bank - Payment infrastructure ## Evidence and credibility note Primary European Central Bank release summarizing its 2026 company survey. The figures measure reported acceptance among the covered sectors, not payment transaction share or cross-border performance. Date evidence: Automatically verified from article:published_time: 2026-08-13 ## First-party corroboration No directly corresponding A1 company announcement is currently linked. ## Original-source traceback [Open the original European Central Bank report](https://www.ecb.europa.eu//press/pr/date/2026/html/ecb.pr260813~389729d6a9.en.html) --- This is a structured Payments Hot Markdown source summary derived from external reporting. Use the original link above to read the publisher's article; copyright remains with the original publisher.