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Paying for a car in Germany: transfer, SEPA and cash limits

Since May 2026 you can pay a German dealer from Serbia by SEPA transfer in euros: the money arrives by the end of the next business day, and the fee is far lower than for a SWIFT payment (0.08% instead of 0.7% in Banca Intesa's price list from May 2026). BiH is not yet in SEPA, so from there you pay by international (SWIFT) transfer. Cash is rarely an option: a resident of Serbia may not take out more than €10,000 in all, a resident of BiH needs approval from the entity's Ministry of Finance to take out €10,000 or more (in FBiH, more than €10,000), and €10,000 or more must be declared at the border.

Paying by bank transfer

A private person needs no permit to pay a German seller for a car. In Serbia payments to non-residents for current transactions are free and go through a bank (Zakon o deviznom poslovanju, articles 3 and 32), and the same holds in FBiH and Republika Srpska (each entity's foreign exchange law, articles 6 and 7).

In Serbia you give the bank, along with the order, the basis of the payment and the document it rests on, such as the invoice or the contract; if they come later, your order counts as given only on the day the bank receives them. In FBiH you may not pay on the basis of a simulated contract or other untrue documents, nor sign a contract that does not state the real value (article 7).

The deposit equal to the German VAT (see the export guide) is paid the same way; how and when it comes back depends on what you agreed with the dealer in writing.

The German road tax on export plates is usually collected by SEPA direct debit, which cannot be taken from an account in Serbia or BiH; the road tax guide explains the other ways to pay it.

From Serbia: a SEPA transfer

Serbia became part of the SEPA area on 22 May 2025, and since 4 or 5 May 2026, depending on the bank, the National Bank of Serbia (NBS) and 18 of the 19 banks have been making SEPA credit transfers. A SEPA payment is made only in euros, so send it from a euro account.

  • You give the dealer's IBAN and the amount; a BIC is needed only when the dealer's bank cannot derive it from the IBAN.
  • If the order reaches your bank before its cut-off time for the day, the money is in the dealer's account by the end of the next business day, counted from when the bank has any documents it needs.
  • The dealer receives the full amount: each side pays only its own bank.
  • A payment to a wrong IBAN that exists is still executed, and getting the money back depends on the bank that holds that account, so check the IBAN against the invoice.

Instant SEPA payments are only beginning: the NBS said in May 2026 that they would follow later and gradually, and the European Payments Council listed one participant in Serbia in September 2026. Payments that SEPA does not cover still go by SWIFT.

From BiH: an international transfer

BiH is not in SEPA. The Central Bank of BiH applied to join on 6 August 2026; the European bodies have yet to decide, and the Central Bank expects the first SEPA payments at the earliest six months after admission. Until then you pay a German dealer by an international (SWIFT) transfer, which costs more (see below). How long such a transfer takes is not confirmed, so ask your bank.

Bank fees and the calculator row

Each bank sets its own fees; two price lists as examples:

  • Banca Intesa Beograd (in force since May 2026): SEPA 0.08%, at least 300 and at most 5,500 RSD (about €47); SWIFT 0.7%, at least 1,000 and at most 40,000 RSD.
  • UniCredit Bank d.d. in FBiH (in force since 18 September 2026): 0.40% through online banking, at least 10 KM, or 0.70% at a branch, at least 20 KM, at most 900 KM either way; 1% more when you pay euros from a KM account.

On €17,850 (a €15,000 car and a €2,850 deposit) that is about €14 by SEPA and about €125 by SWIFT from Serbia, and about €71 online or €125 at a branch from BiH, plus €178.50 for converting KM into euros.

The calculator row "Bank transfer and currency fees" starts at €40 on the Serbia calculator and at €95 on the BiH ones. At Banca Intesa €40 covers a SEPA transfer of up to €50,000 but a SWIFT transfer of only about €5,700; €95 is about UniCredit Bank d.d.'s online price on €23,800 without conversion. Enter your own bank's figure. If the deposit comes back by SEPA transfer, Banca Intesa charges 0.06% of it, at least 100 RSD.

How much cash you may take out

  • Serbia: a resident may take out foreign cash, cheques and dinars totalling no more than €10,000, and more only when emigrating (NBS decision, Službeni glasnik RS 67/2006, 52/2008 and 18/2009, points 10 and 11). Customs temporarily seize the excess (point 14), and a court decides whether it is returned. Whether exactly €10,000 is allowed is unclear, so stay below it. After more than a year abroad you are a non-resident (Zakon o deviznom poslovanju, article 2); a non-resident may take out up to €10,000, or more if it was declared on entry or withdrawn from a foreign-currency account in Serbia (NBS decision, point 12).
  • FBiH: a resident may take out more than €10,000 only with the prior approval of the Federal Ministry of Finance (Odluka o fizičkom prenosu gotovine, Službene novine FBiH 100/25, point IV).
  • Republika Srpska: a resident needs the prior approval of the Ministry of Finance of Republika Srpska to take out €10,000 or more in cash and cheques (Uredba o fizičkom prenosu gotovine, Službeni glasnik Republike Srpske 20/26, article 4); the fee is 70 KM and the Ministry decides within 15 days.

Buying a car is not among the listed grounds in either entity; that leaves "another justified reason", which the Ministry assesses.

Bank cheques and cards

Both BiH entities let a resident take cheques in foreign currency above the cash limit solely to pay for goods abroad: the bank issues them against the seller's pro-forma invoice, you show the bank's document at the border, and within 60 days you prove to the bank that they were used (FBiH decision, point VI; Republika Srpska decree, article 7). Ask the dealer first whether it takes them. In Serbia cheques count towards the same €10,000.

A payment card linked to your account is not cash under EU rules, and Serbian customs let it be carried freely. Withdrawing cash abroad costs a fee: Banca Intesa, for example, charged 2% or 3% in May 2026, depending on the card. A prepaid card that is not in anyone's name and not linked to a bank account counts as cash in both BiH entities and in Hungary.

Declaring cash at the border

  • Serbia and BiH: €10,000 or more, in any currency, is declared to customs on the prescribed form when you leave and when you enter (Serbia: Službeni glasnik RS 20/18; FBiH: Službene novine FBiH 100/25, point III; Republika Srpska: Službeni glasnik Republike Srpske 20/26, article 3). Declaring alone does not let a resident take out more than the limits above.
  • Entering the EU in Hungary or Croatia: €10,000 or more is declared in writing, on the EU form, to customs where you enter (Regulation (EU) 2018/1672, article 3). Croatian customs also take the form by email, at [email protected].
  • Flying to Germany: you declare €10,000 or more to German customs unprompted, online in the Zoll-Portal or, in individual cases, on paper form 040001 in English; failing to declare can bring a fine of up to €1,000,000 (ZollVG § 31). Between EU countries, for example from Austria into Germany, you must disclose €10,000 or more when customs ask, and say where it comes from and what it is for (ZollVG § 12a).

False or incomplete information counts as no declaration. At the EU border undeclared cash can be detained for up to 30 days, extendable to at most 90 (Regulation (EU) 2018/1672, article 7).

Cash at the German dealer

Under the German Money Laundering Act (Geldwäschegesetz, GwG), a dealer who receives €10,000 or more in cash must identify you: it records your name, place and date of birth, nationality and address and checks them against an official photo ID such as your passport (GwG § 10, § 11 and § 12). The act sets no cash ceiling for a car; its only cash ban is on buying property (GwG § 16a).

A dealer may still refuse cash if this is agreed before the contract is concluded (Deutsche Bundesbank), so agree the payment method before you sign.

From 10 July 2027 no trader in the EU may accept more than €10,000 in cash for one purchase, including payments that appear linked (Regulation (EU) 2024/1624, article 80). The cap does not cover payments between private persons, so it does not bind a private seller.

Common mistakes

  • "By law, a car costing more than €10,000 must be paid through an account." In Germany the money laundering act only makes the dealer identify a buyer who pays €10,000 or more in cash; the EU cap on cash payments above €10,000 applies only from 10 July 2027.
  • "If you declare it, you may take out more than €10,000." A resident of Serbia may not take out more than €10,000 except when emigrating, and customs seize the excess; a declaration lets only a non-resident take out what was declared on entry. In BiH a resident needs the Ministry's approval.
  • "In BiH only amounts above €10,000, or above 20,000 KM, are declared." The acts of both entities require a declaration from €10,000.
  • "In FBiH more than €10,000 may be taken out only when emigrating, for medical or school costs and the like." The Ministry may also accept another justified reason, and bank cheques issued against the seller's pro-forma invoice may be taken to pay for goods abroad.
  • "A transfer to Germany takes 2 to 5 business days." From Serbia a SEPA transfer arrives by the end of the next business day; for a SWIFT transfer from BiH the time is not confirmed.

This step of the import

Work out the whole cost

Sources

The official laws, decisions and pages this guide rests on, read on 23/09/2026. Rules and amounts change, so check the ones that matter to you before you buy.