How much cash should you keep at home for emergencies?
Keep enough cash for a few days of basic spending — as a rough guide €50–100 or $50–100 per household, in small bills. When the power or the network fails, card terminals, ATMs and online banking stop working, and the shops that stay open often take cash only.
Why cash still matters
Card payments need power and a working network — at the shop, at the bank and at the card processor. When any of them fails, cards stop working:
- 28 April 2025, Spain and Portugal: during the nationwide blackout, card spending in Spain fell by almost 55% and mobile payments stopped for many people; cash was the fallback (Banco de España).
- 20 October 2026, Europe: a power failure at one data center in London left the cards and app of a large online bank unusable for hours — payments, ATM withdrawals and transfers.
How much and how
| Rule | Why |
|---|---|
| A few days of basic spending (≈ €50–100 / $50–100 per household) | food, medicine, fuel, transport |
| Small bills (5, 10, 20) | in a crisis, nobody has change |
| Kept with your documents, out of sight | one envelope you can grab quickly |
| Checked twice a year | replace what you spent |
These amounts are a rough guide: adjust them to your household and local prices. Keeping a small reserve does not mean distrusting banks — it covers a few hours or days when payment systems are down.
Sources: Banco de España — "How do we pay when the power goes out?" (2025); EU Preparedness Union Strategy (2025). Sources are listed on the last page of every guide.
Updated:
