The cash payment transaction limit will for now remain at 500 euros as the Greek Ministry withdrew the proposal in the end for the previously announced change

On a technical level, strong reactions were expressed by officials of the European Commission and the European Central Bank who believe that there should be an "air" of cash in trade and in other sectors. In other words, it was stated that cash transactions support a part of the economy that cannot be served in other ways and therefore needs to remain active.

In the case of the reduction to 200 euros, moreover, the 500 euro banknote would  then need to be completely excluded from transactions, which could create problems in the banking system as well.

So the Ministry of Finance is focused on expanding the mandatory acceptance of payments with debit or credit cards, through POS (EFT) machines, in all business activities, even in small cities and villages, rather than lowering the cash payment limit at this time.

Amid further discussion, almost at the end of the process, the Greek authorities have given up on the idea of reducing the limit for cash payment of transactions. Therefore, the current cash payment limit still stays at the 500 euro mark.