AOC0444

Written evidence submitted by Anonymous

Comments to Committee regarding whether there is need in UK to regulate or mandate acceptance of physical cash in form of notes & coins

Dear Committee,

I felt moved to write you a brief note expressing my strong belief that there is a need in the UK to ensure that cash continues to be accepted as widely as possible.  In the first place, we continue to have very many people in this country who prefer, out of choice and/or necessity, to use cash and who would therefore be disadvantaged by a shift to purely cashless methods of payment.  This, of course, includes many of our significant elderly population, who are often not at all comfortable with online banking and cashless methods of payment.  To insist that they must use cashless methods would clearly be discriminatory and could even have deleterious effects upon their wellbeing.  Secondly, it must be pointed out that cash provides resilience for our economy, in circumstances where the online/cashless methods may falter.  In this regard, the committee should consider: a) the relative novelty of cashless methods of transaction; and b) the increasing danger of cyber-attacks causing various kinds and levels of disruption to our financial systems.  There should always be an analogue back-up, in my view, and cash has served us well for thousands of years in all kinds of difficult circumstances.  In view of this and the other reasons I have highlighted, I would like to strongly urge the committee to ensure that physical cash remains a viable option for all UK citizens for the foreseeable future.

December 2024