The Directive does not apply to specified payment transactions and related activities, including: cash payments made directly between payer and payee without intermediaries; transactions via a commercial agent authorised to act on behalf of only the payer or only the payee; professional physical transport, collection, processing and delivery of banknotes and coins; non‑professional cash collection and delivery in nonprofit or charitable activities; cash provided by the payee to the payer on explicit request immediately before a purchase; cash‑to‑cash currency exchange where funds are not held on a payment account.

Excluded also are transactions based on certain paper instruments (paper cheques governed by the Geneva Conventions or similar national laws, paper drafts, vouchers, traveller's cheques, postal money orders); payments within payment or securities settlement systems among system participants; securities asset servicing (dividends, income, distributions, redemptions or sales) by specified entities; services by technical providers that never take possession of funds; limited‑use payment instruments; specified low‑value purchases billed via electronic communications providers subject to EUR 50 per transaction and EUR 300 monthly limits; inter‑provider own‑account transactions; intra‑group transactions; and ATM cash withdrawals by providers not party to the customer framework contract, provided they do not perform other Annex I payment services and disclose applicable withdrawal charges before and on receipt of cash.