Cash remains essential in Hungary in 2025

The importance of cash

As of July 1, 2025, cash is a constitutional right in Hungary. While the number of electronic transactions has been steadily increasing over the last decade, half of all offline purchases are still paid in cash, while it seems about 10% of the Hungarian population doesn’t even have a bank account. As a result, it is no surprise to anyone that the amount of cash available in Hungary has increased by 8%, HUF 679 billion (EUR 1.7 billion) since last year.

Available data reflects the sate of affairs at the end of June 2025. The value of all valid cash was then HUF 9,125 billion (ca. EUR 23 billion).

Bank notes and coins

A huge chunk of this increase is due to the increase in the number of bank notes by 41.8 million (from 683.8 million to 725,7 million), out of which 34.1 million were HUF 20,000 bills. These bills now comprise of 47.1% of all valid bank notes, which is in itself a significant increase compared to the 45% last year. The number of other bank notes increased by around 2-5 million each.

All in all, the number of bank notes at the end of June 2025 was as follows:

• 341.9 million HUF 20,000 bank notes,
• 183 million HUF 10,000 bank notes,
• 34 million HUF 5,000 bank notes,
• 23 million HUF 2,000 bank notes,
• 99 million HUF 1,000 bank notes
• 44 million HUF 500 bank notes.

The number of coins also increased: by 117 million to 2.6 billion. The increase in the demand for coins was in line with expectations, in inverse proportion to the value of each coin. The number of the biggest coin, HUF 200 increased the least, by HUF 10 million, while the number of HUF 5 coins increased the most, by 36.9 million pieces from 841.3 million to 878.2 million.

As a result, the number of coins was as follows:

• 206 million HUF 200 coins,
• 264 million HUF 100 coins,
• 261 million HUF 50 coins,
• 486 million HUF 20 coins,
• 522 million HUF 10 coins,
• 878 million HUF 5 coins.

The value of valid HUF 5 coins is around HUF 4.4 billion (ca. EUR 11 million), and they weight almost 3,700 metric tons together at 4.2 grams apiece. Some say there is a chance that many of these are not actually in use but rather wasting away behind furniture or on the streets. However, for now, HUF 5 coins are expected to remain in circulation, since their recall would cost more to the state and to sellers than their continued use.

For comparison, HUF 1 and 2 coins were recalled back in 2008 because their production cost more than their worth, and while sellers were required to use them when giving back change, customers rarely paid with them, so they were effectively lost to circulation. At the same time, it is estimated that about 1.5 billion such coins still remain with the population more than 15 years after the recall. In contrast, the HUF 5 coin remains reasonably well used for now.

Counterfeit money

The Hungarian National Bank works hard on implementing measures that should prevent the creation and promote the recognition of counterfeit money. In H1 2025, 371 counterfeit HUF bank notes were seized, most of which were HUF 10,000 bills. Most of these were created with color printers or copy machines, and they were easy to recognize by touch, by holding them against a light source, or by UV light. During the same period, 797 pieces of foreign currency were seized, out of which 664 were EUR bills.

Cash and accounting

Depending on the type of business you operate in Hungary, there is a chance you are required to handle cash, since cash is now considered a constitutional right. In this case, make sure to consult your accountant on compliant business operation. At Helpers Finance, we also offer advisory as well as accounting and bookkeeping to our clients so you do not have to worry about compliance and can focus on what you do best: growing your business.