Now there's three inquiries - and we're saying all of them must recommend protecting cash
There are now three federal government or senate inquiries that affect cash and all three now have no alternative but to recommend ways to protect our right to use and access cash.
But first some good news, Australians are continuing to use cash and the cashless society increasingly seems to be just a myth.
The number or value of ATM cash withdrawals in Australia per month has not changed substantially since the end of COVID-19 lockdowns.
Meanwhile, 424 bank branches and 718 bank-owned ATMs have disappeared so Australians are looking for cash and trying hard to find cash access points.
There is a feeling that there is a plan to herd us cashless against our will. That's not good for social cohesion and trust and can lead to fake news. Thankfully, there is no President Biden plan to take the world cashless.
But there is the ever-growing Chinese social credit system that is now affecting people outside China. Here is an article for people doing business in China about how to score highly on the social credit system.
In Australia, big institutions and multi-national companies want our fees and valuable data. We need to show the politicians that cash is national economic infrastructure.
If we allow the cash system to be dismantled, it can't be turned back on instantly when needed.
We can win this war on cash and enshrine our freedom to choose how we pay.
We all know what happened on Wednesday 8th October when Optus left much of Australia unable to make purchases or accept payments.
The impact of outages on individuals, businesses and the economy is magnified by a lack of cash access points in local communities. When cash is not in general circulation and easily accessible, whole suburbs and towns can grind to a halt, unable to make the simplest financial transactions.
The Senate's Rural and regional Affairs Committee's inquiry into bank branch closures is also looking at access to cash. ATMIA and I have met with Senator Linda White (ALP, Vic) who is supportive and accepted our petition. Cash Welcome also made a submission to this inquiry. You can read it here.
The media is interested and responding to community concern about declining access to cash.
Our petition
All our submissions are pointing to what our growing petition is calling for:
1) A right to choose cash to buy food and essential groceries at physical retailers (like supermarkets).
Government, regulators and the media are all important to us in promoting and ensuring the future of cash.
But the decisions that are made at the retail point of sale are obviously the key front-line in this battle.
Other nations are protecting cash
The United Kingdom has just guaranteed local access to cash for all citizens.
The UK government expects banks to provide an ATM within three miles of the vast majority of all citizens. His Majesty's Treasury announced on 18 August 2023:
"The vast majority of people and businesses are set to be no further than three miles away from withdrawing cash under a new framework set out by the Treasury.
A government statement published today (18 August 2023) set the minimum expectations on banks to protect services for people and businesses wanting to withdraw or deposit cash.
They can expect to withdraw cash without any fees – something that has been set out in law."
Cash usage is widespread in the Euro zone.
Cash acceptance at the retail point of sale is law throughout Europe.
The European Union has a strategy to protect cash. But some countries don't believe this is enough and are acting by themselves and going further to protect the rights of their citizens to access and use cash.
Retailers in France must also comply with a French mandate to accept cash which is enforceable by police. France has a cash strategy.
The Banque de France says:
"Banknotes and coins are still the most frequently used means of payment in Europe and in France.... 95% of businesses in France accept cash, of which 99% intended to continue to do so in the years to come... In France, net banknote issuance reached €198 billion in December 2022, up 7.5% year-on-year."
A bipartisan bill before US Congress, introduced by New Jersey Democrat Donald Payne and Tennessee Republican John Rose, seeks to ban businesses from rejecting cash for in-person retail purchases .Read more about the bill here.
Bans on cashless retailers are rolling through the USA with cities leading the way. Key among their concerns are the rights of marginalised and poor people.
I'm posting POS stickers to any retailers and merchants asking for Cash Welcome signage. They are 60mm x 80mm (larger available) and popular. Hopefully we can take this battle for hearts and minds to as many retail points of sale as possible.
Our POS signage is generally welcomed and appreciated by merchants who usually need no encouragement to complain about bank EFTPOS fees.
Please help keep us going, talking to the media, posting our information on social media and engaging with the decision-makers.
Please donate to keep us going
Cash Welcome is a campaign supporting the public's right to access and use cash. We work in co-operation with ATMIA. We have 150,000 Australians on our supporter lists.
We rely on donations from the public and industry to keep this campaign going.
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