Pressure on for cash to be mandatory
PRESSURE is mounting on the UK Government to make it mandatory for business to accept cash, following a robust report from the Treasury Committee.
The Committee’s report not only advises MPs to consider legislating for mandatory cash acceptance in all shops and services but also urges the government to enhance its oversight of the country’s ‘access to cash’ infrastructure.
It comes amid growing concern that card-only businesses are excluding significant sections of the population including the elderly, vulnerable and those without access to digital banking.
There is currently no law to force businesses to have to accept cash, however the UK remains one of only a few countries in Europe that doesn’t have regulations insisting on the acceptance of cash.
Countries such as Sweden and The Netherlands are now reversing going cashless and maintaining a resilient inclusive payment system.
There are risks to a card-only approach, according to retail security firm, Volumatic. These include power failures that result in the inability for customers to pay; cyber attacks on banks, where customer transactions/or transactions from a store can’t be processed; privacy concerns about data trails from customers and rising card fees from the card processors.
James Harris, Managing Director at Volumatic, said: “While digital payments are undoubtedly convenient, cash remains one of the most resilient payment methods we have, and its importance should not be underestimated. Cash ensures privacy and inclusion, and it costs a fraction of the amount to process, especially for smaller businesses.”
In the report research from UK Finance, a financial services lobby group, cash was used for 51% of all payments in 2013, but by 2023 this had fallen to 12%.
