European authorities recommend 72-hour cash reserves for emergencies

Following a massive power outage in Spain and Portugal in April 2025 that rendered bank cards unusable, European authorities are recommending that families maintain a cash reserve to cover at least 72 hours of essential expenses. This reserve is intended for emergencies such as power outages, cyberattacks, or natural disasters.

Specific guidelines vary by country. In Austria, the ‘Cash for all cases’ initiative suggests keeping up to 100 euros per household member. In the Netherlands, De Nederlandsche Bank recommends 70 euros for each adult and 30 euros for each child. For a family of four, this totals approximately 200 euros.

Experts advise keeping small-denomination banknotes to facilitate the purchase of food, water, medicine, and transport when electronic payment systems and ATMs are offline. While cash usage for daily shopping has declined, the total value of euro banknotes in circulation has reached a record of over 1,636 billion euros, a rise attributed to periods of economic uncertainty.