Government has no plans to force businesses to accept cash, MPs hear
Government has no plans to force businesses to accept cash, MPs hear
Share:
The Government has no plans to force businesses to accept cash, MPs have heard. Economic secretary to the Treasury Emma Reynolds was speaking to the Treasury Committee as part of its inquiry into cash acceptance. She told the hearing: “We have no plans to regulate businesses to compel them to accept cash – big or small.”.
When it was put to her that certain marginalised people could be excluded, she said: “I think our solution to that, through the financial inclusion work that we’re doing, is to try to tackle digital exclusion.”. Anna Harvey, deputy director of payments and fintech at the Treasury, told the hearing that there may be some solutions around payment technology, “so, you know, you can get rather than a debit card, you can get some sort of pre-payment cards where money is loaded”.
Ms Harvey added: “But I completely appreciate and definitely agree that cash is really important to a lot of people and a lot of vulnerable people in particular. “And the FCA’s (Financial Conduct Authority’s) statutory access to cash regime is there because the Government recognises that and wants to ensure that the cash infrastructure is in place so that people can continue to access it and businesses can continue to use it as far as possible.”.
Bank branch and ATM closures have prompted concerns around the ability to use cash, as have the struggles among some people to pay in cash for goods and services such as shopping and parking. People in vulnerable groups may be particularly reliant on cash, such as some people fleeing domestic abuse, some elderly people and some people with disabilities.
