Why Central Banks Now Say: Keep Some Cash at Home

Quick answer: Several European central banks now advise keeping a small cash reserve at home in case card payments and ATMs stop working. The Dutch payments forum advises €70 per adult and €30 per child for 72 hours. Sweden’s Riksbank suggests SEK 1,000 per adult, enough for about a week of essentials. Finland says enough for three days. Keep it in small notes and coins, build it up slowly, and don’t keep large sums.

For years, the message was that cash was on the way out. That has changed. Central banks and civil-protection agencies now describe a small stash of notes and coins as a sensible back-up, alongside your cards and phone.

The reason is simple. Card machines, ATMs and payment apps all need electricity and a network connection. When either fails, cash still works.

What changed: blackouts, cyber risks and a rethink

On 28 April 2025, a power blackout hit the Iberian Peninsula. The Banco de España later studied what happened to payments that day. Card transactions fell by about 55% compared with a normal day, and ATM cash withdrawals fell by about 34%.

ATMs were part of the problem. According to the Banco de España, fewer than 4% of ATMs had an alternative power source. Most only have a battery that lasts long enough to shut down safely, typically 10 to 20 minutes. When power came back the next morning, cash withdrawals jumped to more than double their usual level as people rebuilt their reserves.

The European Central Bank looked at the same blackout in its research article “Keep calm and carry cash” (Economic Bulletin, Issue 6/2025). It studied four crises, including the pandemic and Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and found people rush to cash whenever trust or infrastructure is shaken. The authors argue that cash gives the payment system a back-up it needs, because no system is perfect.

The ECB article also notes that authorities in the Netherlands, Austria and Finland suggest holding roughly €70 to €100 per household member, or enough for about 72 hours of essentials.

What each country actually advises

Only amounts that officials have published are listed below. Where no amount is given, we say so.

Country	Who says it	What they advise
Netherlands	National Forum on the Payment System, chaired by De Nederlandsche Bank (20 May 2025)	€70 per adult and €30 per child, enough for 3 days (72 hours)
Sweden	Sveriges Riksbank (Payments Report 2026), repeated by the civil defence agency MCF	For example SEK 1,000 per adult, about a week of essential purchases
Finland	Bank of Finland	Enough cash for three days; don’t keep large amounts at home
Norway	Norges Bank and the civil protection directorate DSB	Some cash in smaller notes; no set amount, it depends on your supplies
Spain	Banco de España blog (27 April 2026)	Points to the €70–€100 per person, or 72 hours, used elsewhere in Europe
United Kingdom	UK government “Be Ready” checklist (October 2026)	Cash as a mix of coins and notes, plus cards; no amount given

The Netherlands: a worked-out household table

The Dutch advice is the most detailed. It was drawn up with Nibud, the national budget information institute. A couple with two children would keep €200. A single person would keep €70. The forum stresses that these are starting points; if you think your household needs more, keep more.

In February 2026, De Nederlandsche Bank reported that 71% of consumers knew about the advice, and 58% kept the recommended amount. Of those who fell short, about a third said they simply hadn’t got round to it.

Sweden: one week, not three days

Sweden’s figure covers a longer period. In its Payments Report 2026, the Riksbank says households should have several ways to pay, “for example SEK 1,000 in cash per adult”. MCF, the Swedish civil defence agency, explains that this covers roughly a week of essential purchases. It adds that the cash should be in a mix of denominations, and suggests using cash now and then so you stay in the habit.

Finland and Norway: principles rather than a number

The Bank of Finland calls this a “home emergency kit” for payments. It has three parts: accounts at two different banks, an instant payment app as a fallback, and cash for three days. It also warns against storing large sums at home.

Norges Bank does not set an amount. It asks people to keep some cash in smaller denominations, because shops may run short of change when everyone pays in cash. It also suggests holding at least one physical card and keeping money in more than one bank.

Which notes and coins to keep

Small is better. Shops may not be able to give change for big notes during an outage, and you may only need a few items at a time.

Low-value notes. The Dutch advice says to choose lower-value banknotes.
Plenty of coins. It suggests keeping around 50 coins of various values.
A spread of values. Sweden’s MCF and Norges Bank both recommend a mix of denominations.

How to store emergency cash safely

Officials say little about storage beyond not keeping large amounts. These are our practical suggestions:

Keep it modest. Stick to roughly the amounts above. A few days of essentials is the goal, not savings.
Keep it together and discreet. One sealed envelope or pouch, in a place every adult in the home knows about, but out of sight.
Protect it from water. A zip-lock bag inside your emergency kit works well.
Don’t raid it. If you borrow from it for the pizza delivery, top it up the same week.
Check your insurance. Find out whether your home insurance covers cash kept at home, and up to what limit.
Build it up over time. The Dutch advice suggests topping it up over a few months from ATM withdrawals or change.

Cash is one layer, not the whole plan

Every official source says the same thing: don’t rely on any single way of paying. Cash covers a blackout, but your card covers a burglary. Together, they make you much harder to knock over.

Have a physical card, not just your phone or watch, as the Dutch and Norwegian advice suggests.
Know your PIN. MCF reminds people to note card PINs in case contactless payments stop working.
Spread your banks. Finland, Norway and the Netherlands all suggest accounts at more than one bank in the household.
Keep a banking app working for transfers if card terminals are down but the internet isn’t.

What this means wherever you live

If your country hasn’t published a figure, the European approach still translates well. Work out what your household spends on food, medicine and fuel in three days, and keep that in small notes and coins. If shops near you would struggle without power, as happened in Spain and Portugal, consider covering a week, as Sweden does.

The UK’s new “Be Ready” checklist lists cash alongside water and food, and Canada’s official kit list asks for cash in smaller bills and coins. You can read more about the UK campaign in our post on UK emergency advice, and about the blackout itself in lessons from the Iberian blackout.

Cash is just one part of riding out an outage. To see how your water, food and power hold up too, see how many days your household would last. Our 72-hour emergency kit guide and power outage guide cover the rest.

Emergency cash checklist

Work out three days of essential spending for your household
Set aside that amount in small notes (or about €70 per adult and €30 per child as a starting point)
Add a pouch of coins, around 50 of mixed values
Store it in a waterproof bag, out of sight, where every adult knows to look
Keep at least one physical bank card and know its PIN
Consider accounts at two different banks in the household
Set a reminder to check and top up the cash every six months

Every figure here is an estimate from official guidance, not a rule. Check what your own central bank or emergency agency recommends, and follow your local authorities in a crisis.

Sources & further reading

Every fact in this post was checked against the sources listed above on 1 November 2026. Advice changes: always follow your local authorities.