Why Keep Cash at Home?
When the power goes out, payment terminals and ATMs stop working. At that moment, cash becomes the only reliable way to pay for food, medicine, or other essentials. The ECB emphasises: “Cash is a symbol of a safe asset and an essential tool for emergency payments.”
How Much Money to Set Aside?
Economists recommend that a four-person household should keep around CZK 10,000 in cash, i.e. about CZK 2,500 per person.
It is also advisable to hold part of the reserve in foreign currency, such as US dollars, which tend to retain their value better in times of crisis.
Cash Is Growing Despite Digitalisation
The share of cashless payments in Europe has been steadily increasing. In the Czech Republic, most everyday payments are now made by card or mobile, and younger generations often carry little or no cash. Yet the total amount of cash in circulation continues to rise.
People realise that cash represents security – both for small transactions and as a financial reserve for unforeseen situations. This trend is not unique to the Czech Republic but is evident across the entire euro area.
Recommendations in the Czech Context
Some EU countries, such as Finland and Austria, have already introduced similar recommendations. The Czech Republic has not yet set a specific amount, but the Ministry of the Interior’s crisis guide states that it is advisable to keep cash in banknotes and coins of various denominations. Smaller denominations are practical to make payments easier even under emergency conditions.
Cyber Threats Are Not Theoretical
Dependence on electronic payments also carries the risk of cyberattacks. In recent years, several incidents have shown how vulnerable digital infrastructure can be:
· Sweden – a large-scale outage of the Swish system, the country’s main payment method, completely paralysed payments.
· USA – a cyberattack on Colonial Pipeline paralysed fuel supplies and demonstrated how quickly a cyber threat can affect everyday life.
· Denmark – an outage of a major payment service provider lasted several hours and affected millions of people. Experts predict that such incidents will become more frequent, as digital payments are an attractive target for attackers. Cash, in this regard, is resilient and immune to cyber risks.
Not Just About Card-Oriented Generations
In the Czech Republic, younger people in particular have become used to cashless payments. However, if the infrastructure fails, the absence of cash can become a serious problem.
Economist Lukáš Kovanda warns: “The fact that a person without cash cannot buy even basic medicine can have fatal consequences.”
Blackouts Are Not Hypothetical
Blackouts in Europe are not merely a hypothesis – in 2025, we witnessed two dramatic cases.
In April: On 28 April 2025, a massive power grid outage hit the entire Pyrenean region – Spain, Portugal, and parts of southern France were left without electricity for several hours. A sudden drop of up to 15 GW in production (about 60% of the load) triggered a cascade of failures affecting transport, telecommunications, and hospitals.
In the Czech Republic: On 4 July 2025, a serious incident occurred when a failure of transmission line V411 and issues at the Ledvice power plant caused outages in the northeastern regions of the country and also affected Prague. Public transport was halted, hospitals switched to backup sources, people were trapped in elevators, and local services operated only in a limited capacity.
Conclusion
Cash is not a competitor to digitalisation. It is a reserve that complements modern payment methods and provides security in times when technology fails. Keeping a small financial cushion at home is therefore sensible – not only according to the ECB’s recommendations but also based on experiences from recent crisis years.
Source: Dumbrovská Z. (2025). Keep Cash at Home in Case Systems Fail, Urges the European Central Bank. TN.cz.