Germany is accelerating preparations for an emergency cash delivery system to keep the economy on its feet, in case of blackouts. The plans include the Bundesbank, Germany’s central bank, to keep extra billions to cope with a surge in demand, and possible limits on withdrawals. Government officials and banks are also looking at distribution, discussing for example priority fuel access for cash transporters. The government’s efforts have accelerated in recent weeks after Russia cut off gas supplies.

The planning discussions involve the Bundesbank, its financial market regulator BaFin, and multiple financial industry associations.

The discussion show that Berlin takes the possibility of blackouts seriously, caused by either soaring energy costs or even sabotage, although German authorities have publicly played down the likelihood. They also show the affects of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine on Germany, which relied for decades on cheap Russian energy and currently faces double digit inflation and a risk of disruption from fuel and energy shortages.

Cash is especially important for German citizens, who use it more than other European nations. Roughly 60% of everyday purchases are paid in cash, according to the Bundesbank. Germans, on average, withdrew more than €6,600 annually, mainly from ATMs.

A parliamentary report a decade ago warned of “discontent” and “aggressive altercations” in case citizens were unable to get their hands on cash in a blackout.

At the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, Germans withdrew €20 billion more than they deposited, which was a record and worked without any problems.

But a potential blackout raises new questions about possible scenarios. If a blackout happens, one option for policymakers could be to limit the amount of cash individuals withdraw.

While the Bundesbank’s cash circulation is orderly and its massive stocks ready for any demand spike, security firms that transport money from the central bank to the ATMs and banks have been designated as a weakness by officials. Those firms are not fully covered by priority access to fuel and telecommunications during a blackout.

German financial regulators are also concerned that banks are not fully prepared for major power outages and view it as a new, previously unforeseen risk.

The issue also underscores the dependence of commerce on technology, with transactions increasingly electronic, and where most cash machines have no emergency power source.