cash

Holidaymakers are being warned of new rules around spending cash in popular hotspots which are set to be implemented by next summer

While many Brits use debit, credit, or travel money cards when they go on holiday, for some, cash is still king no matter where they go in the world.

But new plans from the European Central Bank (ECB) could see a digital equivalent to physical cash being introduced, and the first step, a cash payment limit in Euros, is set to be enforced as of next summer.

As reported by Majorca Daily News, as part of the move to a digital Euro, the cash payment limit of €10,000 (about £8,500) will be introduced in Spain as of July 10, 2027. It’ll apply to all commercial transactions for goods and services, and can’t be bypassed by making lots of smaller transactions, as linked cash payments will be treated as a single payment under the law.

For transactions between €3,000 and €10,000, merchants will be obliged to verify the customer’s identity before they pay in cash. This ensures that all financial transactions can be linked to individuals, even if cash is used, and aims to prevent money laundering. This could affect Brits looking to pay for hotels or car hire in cash.

EU countries will be able to set their own limits, and France has already confirmed for its own taxpayers the maximum amount will be just €1,000, but for holidaymakers it’ll be €15,000, about £12,800.

Banks in the EU will continue to monitor unusual deposits at cash points, and will also need to report transactions of over €3,000 where large banknotes are used. While it’s unlikely that the average tourist would ever carry this amount, there is also a limit on the amount of cash someone can carry in public when in Spain which is €100,000, about £85,500. which is to deter criminal activities and terrorism.

If you’re travelling between countries, even if you’re within the Schengen area, you’ll need to declare any amounts over €10,000 to customs when you arrive.

The digital Euro plan would create a central bank digital currency (CBDC) overseen by the ECB. It would offer a digital alternative to physical cash, and mean people could make on and off-line purchases free of charge with their Euros stored on a card or mobile app.

A rollout is planned for 2029, and aims to reduce reliance on US payment systems such as Visa and Mastercard. In Russia, huge numbers of people were left unable to make payments when the firms pulled out of the country due to the war with Ukraine, and Europe wants to avoid using US firms for banking functions in a time of political instability.

European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde claimed in a Euronews interview that the move to a digital Euro isn’t about scrapping cash and coins or monitoring citizens, saying: “Cash will not go away, it will be rejuvenated”.

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When Gianni Infantino was chosen to replace Sepp Blatter as president of FIFA, he was seen as a reformer, someone who would bring transparency and openness to soccer’s international governing body, which had long been mired in scandal and deceit.

A decade later the reformer has been exposed, hoisted by his own petard after a secret partnership with a member of President Trump’s family circle to sell 20% of the World Cup to private investors was exposed. It was a deal so brazen it made past FIFA transgressions seem quaint by comparison.

Less than two weeks after Infantino closed one of the most successful World Cups in history, one that brought in a record $15 billion in revenue, The Times of London revealed that Infantino had begun bribing FIFA’s 211-member associations, giving them until Sept. 19 to accept his plan to sell a stake in the commercial and tournament rights to the World Cup and other FIFA tournaments to a private equity firm headed by Joshua Kushner, the brother of Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and an inveterate White House counselor.

Sign on, the federations were told, and you’ll get $20 million. Decline, and FIFA will give you just a fraction of that.

Under pressure, Infantino announced Friday he was withdrawing the plan, known as the FIFA Forward Enterprise. But it turns out there was more to the proposal than originally thought.

Much, much more.

Which is why Infantino’s campaign for reelection to a fourth term as FIFA president next March, a campaign which had the support of more than 200 FIFA members two weeks ago, now appears doomed.

The national federations of Serbia, Sweden and Wales on Monday withdrew their support for Infantino and England’s FA is expected to do the ‌same. UEFA, the governing body for European soccer and the largest and most powerful of FIFA’s six continental confederations, is threatening legal action while two other confederations — CONCACAF, the largest of FIFA’s two confederations in the Americans and the AFC, which manages soccer in Asia — have issued condemnations.

Those three confederations together represent nearly 140 FIFA members, meaning if they hold together there is no path for Infantino to get the 106 votes he would need to win reelection.

So how did we get here? How did Infantino go from progressive reformer, the overseer of newly transparent and accountable FIFA, to the man who literally tried to sell the World Cup? The journey may not have been as long as it seemed because Infantino may never have been the Boy Scout he was initially perceived to be.

Days after his first election as president in 2016, his name surfaced in leaked documents indicating that, while a senior legal official at UEFA, he had co-signed a broadcast deal with a company subsequently linked to a U.S. investigation into FIFA corruption. Later that same year, a FIFA committee opened an investigation into whether Infantino breached the organization’s Code of Ethics.

Infantino was eventually cleared by that probe but another pattern soon emerged, one that saw the president morph from a soccer bureaucrat into someone who believes he should be mixing with presidents and kings.

Infantino inherited World Cups that had already been awarded to Russia and Qatar, but he aggressively downplayed the human rights abuses in the two countries. Russian President Putin rewarded that by presenting the FIFA chief with the Order of Friendship medal. Qatar did better than that, giving Infantino use of a luxury Gulfstream G650 jet from its government fleet.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino, far left, takes a selfie with (from left) President Trump, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney during the World Cup draw in Washington on Dec. 5.

(Andrew Harnik / Getty Images)

If Infantino, born to blue-collar Italian parents in Switzerland, had previously been driven by a desire for power and money, one former close associate told The Times of London that the FIFA president “views himself as one of the oligarchs now.”

And no government gave Infantino more access to the corridors of power than the Trump administration. Infantino rented office space in Trump Tower, attended Trump’s second inauguration, mingled with him and his guests at Mar-a-lago, accompanied him on diplomatic missions to the Middle East and was a frequent visitor to the White House.

Last October, Infantino took to Instagram to say that Trump “definitely deserves” the Nobel Peace Prize. When he didn’t get it, Infantino simply created his own award, presenting Trump with first FIFA Peace Prize last December.

But the access to the top levels of the U.S. government may have created Infantino’s Icarus moment. The beginning of Infantino’s fall may have started last year at the White House when he and Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo attended a black-tie dinner to honor Saudi Arabia’s crown prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Five days earlier Ronaldo had been given a red card and a three-game suspension for a serious foul, a penalty that would have forced him to miss the start of the World Cup. After the White House event, FIFA announced Ronaldo’s suspension had been lifted, allowing one of the World Cup’s star attractions to play in the tournament.

That was an incident Trump remembered last month when he personally — and successfully — petitioned Infantino to lift a red-card suspension for U.S. striker Folarin Balogun the day before a World Cup round-of-16 game with Belgium. It was just the second time in history a suspension was overturned during a World Cup.

Infantino also pushed through a number of other World Cup firsts for this summer’s tournament. He added three-minute hydration breaks each half, upsetting more than a century and a half of soccer tradition while giving six more minutes of advertising space to broadcasters; he introduced a halftime show for the final, nearly doubling the intermission break for the tournament’s most important game; and he pioneered a dynamic pricing scheme that more than doubled the cost of tickets from 2022.

Those moves were designed to boost FIFA revenues, and they did — as did Infantino’s push to expand the 2026 World Cup to 48 teams and 104 games. But his luck ran out with his plan to give outside investors a share of the tournament, a scheme known to the White House — Jared Kushner was originally involved, according to reports — but few others.

One damning part of the plan involved a potential future role for Infantino in the investment fund. As FIFA’s president, Infantino earns an annual salary of $6 million, but if reelected, he can serve just one more term, meaning he’d be out of a job in 2031. However, multiple reports, citing unnamed sources, said Infantino was positioned to be chief executive of the investment arm in his post-FIFA days, a job that pays $30 million a year.

FIFA said that idea was never discussed. It also denied reports that Infantino had been rebuffed Monday in efforts to contact Trump for help in saving his presidency. But should he be pushed aside and should his days as a private equity manager never come to pass, there is another job Trump thinks he could do.

The president is reportedly considering pushing Infantino to become the next United Nations secretary-general when António Guterres’ term expires in December.

⚽ You have read the latest installment of On Soccer with Kevin Baxter. The weekly column takes you behind the scenes and shines a spotlight on unique stories. Listen to Baxter on this week’s episode of the “Corner of the Galaxy” podcast.

The European Central Bank (ECB) took the digital euro project into its next operational stage on Tuesday by naming 36 payment service providers to help test the future currency in a large-scale pilot programme beginning in the second half of 2027.

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According to the ECB, the participants were selected from more than 50 applicants across the euro area and will work alongside the ECB and 19 of the euro area’s national central banks, excluding Bulgaria and Malta, during a 12-month testing exercise.

The pilot is intended to assess the digital euro’s technical infrastructure, operational processes and user experience, allowing person-to-person and person-to-business payments to be tested in both online and offline environments, before any decision is taken on issuing the currency.

The announcement moves the digital euro closer to practical testing with consumers, merchants and payment providers, making it one of the project’s most significant milestones since the ECB launched its preparation phase in late 2023.

The selected providers include traditional banks, digital banks and payment companies, with several of Europe’s largest financial institutions among those taking part, including Deutsche Bank, UniCredit, Revolut, Adyen and Stripe.

ECB Executive Board member Piero Cipollone said the level of interest demonstrated that the payments industry was ready to help shape the project’s next phase.

“The strong market interest in the pilot shows the private sector’s readiness to engage actively and quickly advance with the digital euro project to strengthen the European payments landscape,” Cipollone stated.

“We look forward to deeper engagement as we work with and learn alongside European payment service providers in developing a secure, efficient and inclusive digital euro,” Cipollone concluded.

Legislative approval remains the decisive milestone

The pilot comes as negotiations continue between the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission on legislation that would establish the legal basis for a digital euro.

The ECB has consistently maintained that it cannot issue the currency unless the legislation is adopted by EU lawmakers.

Current planning foresees formal approval in 2027, followed by completion of the pilot and a possible public launch in 2029, although those timelines remain dependent on the legislative process.

The digital euro would be available free of charge to consumers through supervised payment providers and the ECB has repeatedly sought to counter concerns that it could lead to the disappearance of physical money or weaken privacy protections.

In the current plan for the launch, the digital euro would not pay interest and holdings would likely be capped to avoid significant outflows from commercial bank deposits.

Speaking to Euronews exclusively last week, ECB President Christine Lagarde welcomed the European Parliament’s decision to begin negotiations on the legislation and reiterated that the digital is intended to complement, rather than replace, cash.

“Cash and the digital euro will both be legal tender, which means that nowhere in Europe can someone say, ‘Sorry, I’m not taking your banknotes’,” Lagarde told The Europe Conversation with Maria Tadeo, reaffirming that cash would remain a permanent feature of Europe’s monetary system.

The digital euro is also designed to reduce Europe’s dependence on international payment providers and strengthen the bloc’s strategic autonomy in payments.

Lagarde also told Euronews that the project is about reinforcing Europe’s economic sovereignty as much as modernising payments, pointing to the bloc’s continued reliance on foreign-owned payment networks.

“We depend predominantly on US, but also sometimes Chinese, networks to organise payments. We need to have a European solution because we want to be sovereign at home,” Lagarde stated.

THEY survived Geordie Shore together for more than a decade, weathering explosive rows, chaotic nights out and everything that came with reality TV fame. When Nathan Henry first walked into the house in 2015 and bravely opened up about his sexuality, Scotty T was one of the first castmates to embrace him into the group.

Which is why friends tell The Sun they are “absolutely sickened” to see Scotty accused of turning on the very community he once publicly stood beside, leaving Nathan feeling “blindsided”.

Their friendship became one of the constants of the MTV series, surviving cast shake-ups, years away from the cameras and countless personal milestones.

But after more than a decade of standing side by side, those closest to Nathan say the pair’s bitter public clash is about far more than a handful of tweets – it’s watching someone he trusted seem to turn his back on the community Nathan has spent years proudly representing.

The fallout unravelled after Scotty, 37, posted a string of controversial messages about Pride celebrations in London that many accused of being openly homophobic, causing backlash online.

He wrote: “If you’re ever a parent – and you took your child to the Pride event in London… You should have your kids taken off you. Simple.”

He continued: “Forcing them to see some of the state I’ve seen, and the stands with merch about being horny and ‘f*** me’. What sort of disgusting animal even does that to their child.”

One source close to Nathan told The Sun: “We’re absolutely sickened that Scotty has lashed out at the gay community. They’ve been friends for so many years and gone through so much together. Referring to parents who bring their children to Pride events as ‘animals’ is heartbreaking.

“Nathan was blindsided given how supportive Scotty was to him in the past and it has really struck him.”

For Nathan the comments were deeply personal.

After all, this was the same Scotty who had stood beside him when he came out on Geordie Shore and built one of the show’s most genuine friendships.

Which is exactly why, pals say, Nathan decided he couldn’t let the comments pass without saying something publicly.

He wrote: “I think you should delete this… I don’t know if this is you or management but it stinks of hypocrisy just saying.”

Scotty replied that he loved Nathan “to bits” but doubled down on his position, insisting children should not be exposed to explicit displays at Pride events.

He later added: “Can us straight people have a month where we walk about with our cock and balls out?”

And in another post wrote: “Be gay, bi, gender fluid, camp, manly, whatever the f*** you want – just don’t force it into everyone else’s faces. Especially children.”

But those close to Nathan say the comments left him stunned because Scotty had relied on him to help promote his own OnlyFans account.

Our insider told us: “Scotty was desperately begging Nathan to take those pictures to promote his OnlyFans. He used him to make cash.”

The source said that only made Scotty’s public comments feel even more hypocritical to Nathan, prompting him to hit back publicly.

Nathan, not letting his behaviour slide, responded again but this time on his Instagram.

He shared an old photograph which Scotty himself had asked him to take in order to help promote his OnlyFans account – pointing to what he believed was a glaring contradiction between Scotty’s past behaviour and his current narrative.

Alongside it he wrote: “B***h I know you lying when you asked me to take this and used it to promote your OF implying gay s**t. The math ain’t mathing.”

Those close to Nathan said he couldn’t sit back without saying anything.

One pal said: “He couldn’t understand the contradiction between what Scotty had asked of him in the past and what he was now saying publicly.”

For fans who have followed Geordie Shore over the past decade, the public fallout marks a remarkable turn for two castmates whose friendship appeared to survive almost everything the show threw at them.

When Nathan first joined the series, he initially came out as bisexual before later identifying as gay. Scotty was among those who publicly accepted him, and the pair went on to film multiple series together, including the recent reunion seasons and the milestone Thailand trip that marked Scotty’s return to the franchise.

Away from the cameras, however, life has taken both men in very different directions.

Nathan, now 35, has largely stepped away from the party-boy image that first made him famous. He recently revealed he has been in a private relationship for three years and has deliberately kept it away from the spotlight.

He also opened his life to viewers in an emotional four-part MTV documentary alongside his father Glen, who is living with terminal cancer. The series explored family, illness and LGBTQ+ acceptance within Caribbean culture, earning widespread praise for its honesty.

Scotty’s recent years, meanwhile, have been considerably more turbulent.

Best known for starring on Geordie Shore between 2012 and 2019 before winning Celebrity Big Brother, he has faced a series of financial and legal difficulties since leaving the show.

Earlier this year, court proceedings heard that he now earns money through club appearances and OnlyFans after admitting an offence relating to unlawful financial promotions on Instagram. During the hearing, it was also stated that he received financial support from his mother, while he had previously been declared bankrupt after his company went into liquidation.

Last October, Scotty announced he had become a father, describing his baby son as “the most important thing” in his life.

Whether the pair can repair more than ten years of friendship now remains to be seen.

But friends fear this will cause a big obstacle in their future.

One pal said: “Nathan feels like someone who supported him and his life for so many years has changed his views so much.

“It feels like an attack on the community he’s proud to be part of. That’s why this has hurt so much.”

The Sun has contacted reps for Nathan and Scotty T for comment.

HOLIDAYS to Dubai are back on track. The UK Foreign Office last week scrapped the advice against all but essential travel to the UAE, as well as nearby destinations such as Qatar and Bahrain.

And with hotels and attractions itching to welcome us once more, there are some great bargains to be had right now. Whether you’ve got bags of cash to spend or are hunting for ways to make your dosh go further, we’ve got you covered.

ON A BUDGET?

FROM beach club deals, through to discounted 5* “business lunches”, a classy trip can be yours but without the cost — if you know where to look.

One of the biggest expenses on a visit to the UAE city can be at the ever-popular beach clubs.

Expect to drop hundreds of dirhams once you’ve paid for entry, loungers, food and drink.

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Yet one of the newest on the block is also one of the most affordable — the Casablanca.

As part of landmark resort Atlantis, the club is a bargain, so long as you time your visit for a weekday.

Paying around £24 per person for a sun lounger, you can still enjoy the pool and beach without having to spend a fortune.

My hours were happily spent with a few Prosecco foam cocktails and truffle fries while enjoying the party atmosphere, thanks to the upbeat dance music being pumped out.

Dips in the pool were followed by lolling on the beach swing, before sunning myself to dry off on my striped lounger.

Want to go higher? When it comes to a rooftop pool, Aura can’t be beaten, taking the title of the world’s tallest 360-degree infinity pool.

But if you love the views and aren’t fussed about the pool, try their lounge breakfast package.

For a fraction of the price of using the pool, you get a breakfast and two drinks.

I might have stayed dry, but I got those influencer-style shots posing next to the water without the cost. From the miso eggs benedict to pomegranate juices, I promise it’s worth the early start.

For more of the high life, also drop in at Ce La Vi. The famous bar has some of the best views of the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building.

But you’ll be joining the locals if you visit at lunch rather than dinner — and will stay in your budget, too.

Dinners can see a main course alone costing £30. Yet the three-course lunch set menu will set you back just £28, including a glass of wine.

But while Dubai is certainly a foodie city, the real flavour of the place is to be found in the street markets.

Head to the Grand Souk, where you’ll find breads stuffed with cheese or Nutella for £1.22, or Iranian falooda — a sorbet-like dessert made of thin rice noodles and syrup — for £1.

You’ll certainly need some energy for going shopping afterwards, with streets of spices and gold jewellery (Dubai is home to the world’s biggest gold ring — 21-carat, and weighing 59kg).

And after all that, your well- deserved rest will not tip your budget over the edge — Brits will be pleased to spot the famous purple signage of Premier Inn, there being seven across Dubai.

Yet these are pimped-up Premier Inns, with gyms and rooftop pools — as well as the familiar Costa outlet in the lobby.

And who knew they’d be even cheaper than the UK, with rooms for as little as £21 a night during the off-season? That means you could spend a week in Dubai for under £150 — half the price of one night at the Atlantis.

Otherwise there’s Rove, the UAE’s own budget hotel chain.
Slightly pricier at £44, it has a bit more to it, from ice-cream trucks to beach- bar happy hours.

So don’t believe the rumours that Dubai has to be expensive.

Live the high life — often literally — and still come home with some change to spare.

MORE CASH TO SPLASH?

IN my opinion, upgrading your hotel generally comes with a multitude of benefits that extend way beyond just a swankier room.

The Palm ­— so named because of its fronds of sand jutting out into the sea that resemble the leaves of a palm tree — is one of the most desirable areas to stay in but you can get the same luxury for a fraction of the price elsewhere.

Book one of the 5* resorts that sit at the bottom of its branch, along Mina Seyahi beach.

The 5* Westin is a sprawling resort that features several pools and seemingly more sun loungers than there are rooms.

With a whopping ten restaurants on site, you don’t even need to leave the resort.

Kids have use of all the fun-packed waterslides at neighbouring hotel Le Meridien, while parents can kick back in the adults-only area where there is a constant supply of mellow music and freshly shaken cocktails.

Adults after a more sophisticated atmosphere, however, will likely prefer the trendy 5* W Hotel, home to bold bedrooms and the sky-high Attiko restaurant (for those aged 21 and over).

The menu of Asian-fusion bites is designed for sharing — try the spicy tuna taco topped with avocado and yuzu and the crispy scallop, served in its shell.

These are dished up alongside cocktails that are as jaw-dropping as the views of twinkling hotels at night.

It’s safe to say fancy food isn’t in short supply in Dubai. In fact, this Middle Eastern city is now catching up with some of the world’s most celebrated foodie destinations — competing with the likes of Tokyo and Paris.

The Michelin Guide for Dubai features 117 restaurants for 2026.

Last year, Avatara, in Dubai Hills, became the first vegetarian Indian restaurant in the world to earn a Michelin star. And having sampled all 17 delicately crafted courses on its flavour-packed tasting menu, I can see why it’s ranked so highly.

The experience is wonderfully theatrical, and the plates could be considered works of art, not just the meals — decorated with edible flowers, rich sauces and billowing dry ice.

It costs around £150pp for the tasting menu, but my word, you’ll leave satisfied and full to the brim. But while Avatara may have the wow factor for serious foodies, those who prefer more of an experiential dinner should book a Lady Nara cruise.

This fancy wooden vessel runs breakfast and dinner sailings at various times of day, but the most spectacular has to be at night when Dubai’s glowing skyscrapers are fully lit.

We sailed between various landmarks while tucking into a feast cooked up in the kitchen below deck. Hors d’oeuvres were followed by huge bowls of fresh leaves and artichokes topped with shaved Parmesan, and hearty meats served in zingy sauces, while gentle music hummed in the background.

If fine dining isn’t your thing but you still want to push the boat out a bit, you can always spend that hard-earned dosh on a flight upgrade instead.

Emirates is the official airline of Dubai and is currently the only one offering direct flights from the UK. It launched a fourth daily flight between Dubai and Gatwick at the start of this year, giving travellers even greater flexibility.

The experience in Emirates business-class cabins is as flashy as Dubai itself, thanks to the doting crew, as well as the on-board cocktail bar — where you can while away the eight or so hours on board sipping on martinis made at 38,000ft.