According to a national survey by the Bank of Spain published in 2021, 93% of businesses accepted card payments, and only 16% had established a minimum amount for card use in the country. Three years later, 88% of the Spanish population has a credit or debit card, and, among those under the age of 24, e-wallets (such as Google Pay or Apple Pay) are often the preferred option. This change in in-person paying trends has led many businesses to remove thresholds for card payments to avoid losing sales. In fact, the percentage of people who say they don’t usually carry cash in their wallet doubled between 2023 and 2024.

Despite the potential loss of revenue, some establishments in the Spanish market still require a minimum amount for card use. Why do stores choose this? Is it legal? In this guide, we will try to answer these questions to help you set a payment policy that is beneficial to both your business and your customers.

What’s in this article?

• How do minimum amounts for card payments work in Spain?
  
• Card minimums in Spain: Why businesses use them
  
• Drawbacks of establishing a minimum amount for card payments
  
• Is it legal to set a minimum for card payments in Spain?
  

How do minimum amounts for card payments work in Spain?

A minimum amount for card payments is a common practice among businesses in Spain. Let’s see how it works:

• Setting a minimum amount
  The business determines the minimum spend to pay by card. Under the latest Bank of Spain report, the average figure is €11.

• Informing the customer
  The business informs its customers of the threshold for card payments. Regardless of the amount set, it must be explicitly indicated in the store, for example, with a sticker on the entrance door listing the accepted options or a clearly visible sign on the counter.

• Applying the restriction
  The store does not accept card payments if the amount is below the minimum. Shoppers are offered two possibilities:

  • Purchasing more products until the threshold is reached
    
  • Paying in cash, one of the most common non-card payment methods in the country, which, according to the Bank of Spain, remained the most used for payments in physical shops in 2024
    

Card minimums in Spain: Why businesses use them

Local and more traditional establishments often set a minimum for card use in Spain. We have listed the main reasons below:

• Incentivizing purchases
  Per the Bank of Spain, card-based transactions in physical shops increased by 4% between 2022 and 2024, indicating a growing preference for this payment method among shoppers. If a buyer needs to pay by card and adds an additional product for a low value to reach the threshold, they might decide to buy it.

• Avoiding card terminal use
  In very traditional businesses, card terminal use can be a challenge. At times, contactless payments do not go through because of a read error, whether it is an NFC technology failure on the device or a POS or card reader issue. For small payments, some shops feel the hassle of canceling and repeating the transaction is not worth the modest profit from the sale.

• Minimizing fees
  Following the publication of Regulation (EU) 2015/751, which regulates exchange fees (i.e., processing fees charged by card networks) for credit and debit cards, these charges were reduced to 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively. However, certain businesses—especially those operating on very tight net profit margins—find these costs affect their earnings.

Digital tools enable cards to be accepted profitably, efficiently, and from anywhere. For instance, Stripe Terminal is the point-of-sale solution that natively integrates with the Stripe payment platform. Terminal allows for monitoring and managing in-person and online transactions in a single location to offer a unified business experience. Furthermore, unlike some of the devices provided by banks, using a portable card terminal such as the Stripe Reader S700 and the BBPOS WisePOS E does not require contracting additional services.

Drawbacks of establishing a minimum amount for card payments

Certain businesses might see valid reasons to set a minimum amount for card payments, but it’s important to recognize the drawbacks of refusing debit or credit cards below that level. The following are some of the most significant reasons:

• Worsened customer experience
  The payments experience is customer experience, and when people have to pay with a method they’d rather avoid, many leave the store feeling somewhat disappointed.

• Conveying a negative image
  Establishing a threshold for card use in Spain often conveys a negative image on several levels: from resistance to digital transformation due to not adapting to current payment trends, to a lack of flexibility in understanding shoppers’ preferences.

• Reducing impulse purchases
  Small purchases are usually impulsive (e.g., getting a coffee or buying a magazine if you have arrived at the train station too early). If the customer cannot pay by card, they’re likely to give up on the purchase. In the long run, this could entail a loss of revenue from modest but frequent sales.

Is it legal to set a minimum for card payments in Spain?

Despite the drawbacks we’ve just described, some businesses still set a minimum amount for card payments in Spain, and the law protects their right to do so. While there is no specific regulation that allows for establishing spending limits, there is no prohibition against it. Ultimately, establishments could do so freely, provided they meet the following obligations:

• Not applying surcharges
  No matter how low the amount is, if the customer asks to pay by card, the business cannot apply a surcharge, as specified in Article 35.3 of Royal Decree-Law 19/2018. To promote a specific method, one can offer price discounts or other benefits. For example, individuals paying small values in cash could be encouraged to opt for this option over using cards.

• Providing clear notice
  In Spain, setting a threshold is legal when a notice appears in clearly visible locations. Per FACUA-Consumers in Action, if a business refuses to process a card-based transaction (without having explicitly stated that they are not accepted or that they are subject to a minimum), the shop needs to offer the customer an alternative payment method—such as an account number to make a SEPA transfer or a phone number to send the sum via Bizum—instead of requiring cash.