Shops may be forced to accept cash, say MPs

Shops could be forced to accept cash payments in the future, MPs have suggested.

Businesses aren’t currently required by law to accept physical notes and coins.

But according to the Treasury Committee, this means they can refuse cash with no legal duty to accommodate people’s varying needs.

The group of MPs has now called on the government to improve the monitoring and reporting of cash acceptance across the country.

“If it doesn’t, it risks creating a two-tier system where vulnerable groups become excluded from community spaces such as leisure centres, theatres and public transport,” the committee said.

Vulnerable people ‘facing poverty premium’

The committee warned that if more and more businesses go cashless, many vulnerable people, such as domestic abuse victims and the elderly, could end up paying more essential goods and services.

This, it said, would lead to people “already at increased risk of poverty” will face a “poverty premium”.

So far, the Treasury Committee has stopped short of recommending that the law be changed so cash acceptance becomes mandatory.

However, it did suggest that if “those who rely on physical cash are not adequately supported”, there “may come a time” when this needs to happen.

“A sizeable minority depend on being able to use cash and they must not be forgotten by Whitehall,” said committee chair Dame Meg Hillier.

“As a society, we must avoid sleepwalking into a situation where cash is no longer widely accepted.”

Dame Meg added that the government needs to take this issue seriously, as it’s currently “in the dark on how widely cash is being accepted.

“That is completely unsustainable,” she commented.

Government not planning to force shops to accept cash

So far, the government has ruled out requiring shops and service providers to accept physical notes and coins.

Speaking to the committee earlier this year, economic secretary to the Treasury Emma Reynolds said the UK isn’t about to become a cashless society.

However, she ruled out following the lead of other countries, such as Australia, and forcing essential services to keep taking cash payments.

“We have no plans to regulate businesses - big or small - to compel them to accept cash,” Ms Reynolds commented.

She added that the government is “focused on ensuring that everyone has access to cash, such as through new banking hubs, and improving people’s digital skills”.