Right to Pay Cash Empowers Slovakian Citizens

An amendment to the Slovak constitution ensures everyone has the legal right to purchase goods and services using cash. In addition to protecting payment choice, it is intended to preserve personal privacy.

The new amendment—passed in June with the support of 111 MPs—was proposed by the Sme Rodina party, described by Euractiv as ‘identity and democracy-aligned’, in response to developments in the road to a digital euro. While the EU Commission and European Central Bank have positioned this as a supplement, not a replacement for physical money, MP Miloš Svrček—who co-authored the amendment—is keen to ensure that arrangement is enshrined in law.

Liberal MP Marián Viskupič raised concerns around digital payments permitting ‘monitoring of a person’s entire life’. However, he also advanced a further amendment—also passed—that gives shopkeepers the right to refuse cash payments for ‘appropriate of generally applicable reasons.’ This not only enables to continued existence of card-only vending machines, but also opens a potential loophole for business owners to refuse cash, which risks undermining the pro-cash, pro-payment choice amendment.