Letter from Frank Elderson, Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank (ECB), to Mr Arvils Ašeradens, Minister for Finance, Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Latvia, regarding amendments to the Law on taxes and levies (obligation to provide non-cash payment possibility)
Date: 2025-11-24
Institutions: European Central Bank
Subjects: money

ECB-PUBLIC 

[COURTESY TRANSLATION] 

Frank Elderson  
Member of the Executive Board  

Mr Arvils Ašeradens  

Minister for Finance  

Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Latvia  

Smilšu iela 1 

LV-1919 Riga 

LATVIA 

Frankfurt am Main, 24 November 2025 
Contact person: Kristine Drevina 
email: kristine.drevina@ecb.europa.eu 
tel.: +37 123 776 909 

Re:  Amendments  to  the  Law  on  taxes  and  levies  (obligation  to  provide  non-cash  payment 
possibility) 

Dear Minister, 

It has come to the attention of the European Central Bank (ECB) that on 4 December 2024 the Latvian 

Parliament  adopted  an  amendment  to  the  Law  on  taxes  and  levies  that  obliges  those  taxpayers  whose 

turnover exceeds EUR 50 000 in the previous reporting year to ensure the possibility to make cashless 

payments for their services and retail transactions at their specific legal address, structural unit, and vending 

machine. The ECB understands that this obligation entered into force on 1 April 2025. 

The  ECB  has  recently  opined  on  a  somewhat  similar  draft  Slovak  law  on  the  mandatory  acceptance  of 

cashless payments by sellers1, which, inter alia, introduced an obligation for sellers to enable buyers to 

make cashless payments for goods and services for any sale exceeding EUR 1 in value as of 1 March 

2026 2. In its opinion the ECB expressed its understanding that the intention of the Slovak authorities was 

to oblige sellers to accept at least one means of cashless payment, and that the choice of acceptable means 

of cashless payment will lie solely with the seller 3. The ECB also noted that the draft Slovak law introduces 

an obligation for sellers to enable buyers to make cashless payments, but does not limit the ability of buyers 

to continue paying for goods and services in cash. In this regard, the ECB stressed that sellers are generally 

obliged to accept cash as a means of payment for goods and services, as euro banknotes and coins have 

legal tender status, and their continuing acceptance plays an important role in society 4.  

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See Opinion CON/2025/30. All ECB opinions are published on EUR-Lex. 

See paragraph 1.2 of Opinion CON/2025/30. 

See paragraph 2.2 of Opinion CON/2025/30. 

See paragraph 2.3 of Opinion CON/2025/30. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ECB-PUBLIC 

Prior to the abovementioned opinion on a draft Slovak law, in 2021 the ECB opined on a draft Belgian law 

on the provision of an electronic payment option to consumers5 that provided that where a payment in euro 

is made in the simultaneous physical presence of a consumer and an undertaking, the undertaking must 

also make available to the consumer an electronic means of payment 6. As concerns the introduction of a 

mandatory  requirement  for  undertakings  to  provide  an  electronic  means  of  payment  to  consumers 

alongside  cash,  the  ECB  stated  in  that  opinion  that  it  holds  a  positive  view  of  further  innovation  and 

development in the field of electronic payment instruments and their continued spread in society 7, while 

also  highlighting  the  unique  and  important  role  of  cash  in  society8  and  the  legal  tender  status  of  euro 

banknotes and coins 9.  

In accordance with Articles 127(4) and 282(5) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and 

Article 2(1), second indent, of Council Decision 98/415/EC 10, national authorities are required to consult the 

ECB on draft legislative provisions concerning  matters that fall within its fields of competence, including 

means of payment.  

The ECB would appreciate the Ministry of Finance giving due consideration to the above observations by 

honouring its obligation to consult the ECB in the future on draft national legislation falling within the ECB’s 

fields of competence where appropriate. 

Finally, the ECB would like to draw your attention to the fact that a new, updated version of the Guide to 

consultation  of  the  ECB  by  national  authorities  regarding  draft  legislative  provisions  was  adopted  and 

published in April 2025 11. I hope that you find this Guide to be useful. 

Yours sincerely, 

[signed] 

Cc: 

Mr Mārtiņš Kazāks, Governor, Latvijas Banka  

Mr V Dombrovskis, Commissioner for Economy and Productivity; Implementation and 

Simplification, European Commission 

Mr D Calleja Crespo, Director-General Legal Service, European Commission 

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11  

See Opinion CON/2021/38. 

See paragraph 1.1 of Opinion CON/2021/38. 

See paragraph 2.1 of Opinion CON/2021/38. 

See paragraph 2.3 of Opinion CON/2021/38. 

See paragraphs 2.4-2.8 of Opinion CON/2021/38. 

Council Decision 98/415/EC of 29 June 1998 on the consultation of the European Central Bank by national authorities 
regarding draft legislative provisions (OJ L 189, 3.7.1998, p. 42, ELI: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dec/1998/415/oj)    
See  ECB  Guide  to  consultation  of  the  European  Central  Bank  by  national  authorities  regarding  draft  legislative 
provisions 2025, available on the ECB’s website at www.ecb.europa.eu. 

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