What was claimed
From January 2026 every purchase above £20 will need digital ID verification.
Our verdict
False. There is no evidence such a policy is coming into force. Videos purporting to be of the Prime Minister making this announcement feature fake audio.
What was claimed
Repeated cash use could cost you £250 and retailers who accept it will be fined £500.
Our verdict
False. There is no evidence of any such policy and clips claiming to show Keir Starmer discussing this use fake audio.
Videos viewed thousands of times on Facebook and TikTok falsely claim that from January 2026 “every purchase above £20 will need digital ID verification” under a new “secure commerce regulation”.
The videos also claim: “Cash will no longer be anonymous, paying with notes could now cost you £250 for repeated cash use and £500 fines for retailers who accept it. Every transaction will be logged, tracked, and linked to your personal identity.”
But neither of these claims are true. The government has not announced any such policy.
We found no evidence on gov.uk, the official website for the government, of a policy called “secure commerce regulation”, or fines for repeated cash payments being introduced in 2026. We also couldn’t find any credible news reports about these claims either.
Similarly, searches of Hansard, the record of what is said in Parliament, do not show any evidence of any such announcements, which you would expect with such a major policy.
In September, the government announced plans to introduce digital ID. We have written several fact checks about what the plans entail, and confirmed that it will not require all UK citizens to hold one. It will be mandatory for those who are looking to work in the UK as part of right to work checks. Therefore, someone who is retired wouldn’t need a digital ID.
The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology said the scheme would “in time make it simpler to apply for services like driving licences, childcare and welfare, while streamlining access to tax records”, but the government confirmed to Full Fact previously that digital ID won’t be mandatory to access these services. There is no evidence of any plans to tie digital ID to purchases above £20.
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The videos are narrated by a voice that sounds like the Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer. But the audio doesn’t consistently match Mr Starmer’s natural cadence or intonation, and appears to have been generated by AI (although we cannot completely rule out it being created by other means).
Text overlaid in the top right corner of some versions of the video says “Generated by AI”. But many of the people commenting seem to think it is real despite this disclaimer. Other text present on these videos says: “Cash payments restricted under 2026 law” and “£20 spending control starts January 2026”.
These videos are part of a spate of false and misleading content about supposed incoming changes to personal freedoms being shared online.
Before sharing information like this that you see on social media, first consider whether it comes from a verifiable and trustworthy source. Our toolkit can help you do this.
This article is part of our work fact checking potentially false pictures, videos and stories on Facebook. You can read more about this—and find out how to report Facebook content—here. For the purposes of that scheme, we’ve rated this claim as false because there is no evidence of either of these policies being announced and videos purporting to show the Prime Minister discussing these changes feature fake audio.
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Subscribe to weekly email newsletters from Full Fact for updates on politics, immigration, health and more. Our fact checks are free to read but not to produce, so you will also get occasional emails about fundraising and other ways you can help. You can unsubscribe at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy.