UK Treasury Committee Warns Against Declining Cash Transactions

The UK’s Treasury Committee is considering the introduction of a regulation that will force shops to start accepting cash in the future. The committee co,pleined that the declining cash acceptance level could result to a two-tier society, which will be bad for the most vulnerable.
However, no legislation in the UK specifies the acceptance of cash for acceptance of goods and services. It means shops are not obliged to accept cash for goods and services if they don’t want to.

Declining Cash Transaction Could Impact Vulnerable People Negatively

The Committee has been receiving complaints and requests from vulnerable groups, including those with learning abilities, the elderly, and domestic abuse victims. They complained that the number of places they can spend their cash are reducing, which can make buying goods and services cost more.

The Treasury Committee is calling on the UK Government to improve the reporting and monitoring of its cash acceptance levels to prevent any scarcity issues in future. The body also warned that failure to do so could lead to a tw0-tier system. This means vulnerable people could be excluded from important places such as public transport, theatres, and leisure centers.

However, the Economic Secretary of the Treasury, when appearing before the committee, stated that the government does not have any plans to regulate businesses and force them to accept cash. The Committee still pointed out that the situation could be a dicey one in the future if the vulnerable who rely n physical cash for their transactions are denied means of buying goods and services.

Other Countries Are Also Creating Regulations To Encourage Cash Acceptance

The worries by the Treasury Committee is not peculiar to the UK. Other countries are also concerned about the speedy disappearance of cash. Norway was initially heading to become one of the world’s first cashless economy.

However, the plan suffered a deliberate setback after new rules mandated shops to accept cash payments along with other mobile payment methods. The new rules were set to protect the complete disappearance of cash, which could make things more difficult for the vulnerable.

Sweden’s central bank has also given its approval for the use of a legislation to mandate shops to accept cash payments. This comes after several consumers submitted complaints regarding their inability to spend their cash when buying goods and services. The monetary body approved the regulation last year and it has already been implemented.

The latest report from the UK also buttresses the point of maintaining a certain level of cash flow even if majority of transactions are now done cashless. The Committee pointed out recent bank outages in the UK, which forces customers to withdraw their cash.

Dame Meg Hillier, Chair of the Treasury Select Committee, stated that the society should avoid sleepwalking into a position cash is no longer widely accepted as a means of paying for Goods and services. He says the government should be proactive in its role to ensure such situation doesn’t happen.