The House of Commons Treasury Committee’s Report on ‘Acceptance of Cash’ was published on 30 April 2025. As part of its investigation, the 11-member cross-party committee, chaired by Dame Meg Hillier, Labour MP for Hackney South and Shoreditch, reviewed data on declining cash withdrawals at ATMs. This is in keeping with the fact that ‘physical cash’ (banknotes and coins) is increasingly not being accepted for face-to-face payments in the retail sector (shops, supermarkets, department stores); cafés, pubs, and restaurants; local government establishments (car parks, leisure centres); and petrol stations, and cannot be used to pay for journeys on public transport. There is, indeed, no legal obligation for any UK businesses and organisations that provide goods or services to the public to accept physical cash. As a consequence, ‘unbanked’ people, those without current bank accounts and unable to access remote banking (mobile, online, telephone) services, risk social exclusion. Their ranks include those living on a low or irregular income, older people, people with learning disabilities and mental health problems, victim-survivors of economic abuse, rough sleepers, and other financially excluded people. Furthermore, the ‘poverty premium’ forces low-income households to “pay more for essential goods and services”, as they cannot readily access bargains and other low-cost options available to those making digital payments.
Despite the accelerated decline in cash transactions during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, many people continue to prefer to use physical cash for a variety of reasons. Some are wary of digital payments, fearing financial scams or their accounts being hacked into. Others live in rural communities with limited broadband and mobile connectivity, while some do not even possess computers or smartphones. Physical cash does help users track their spending habits and manage their budgets. As an analogue payment method, it can provide a fall-back when digital technology fails or cards are lost. Either way, consumer choice in payment methods needs to be respected. The Equality Act 2010 may indeed require appropriate adjustments for disadvantaged older and disabled people to promote financial inclusion.
A variety of digital payment methods, including contactless cards (debit cards; credit cards), mobile banking apps, digital wallets, person-to-person payment platforms, e-commerce platforms, and virtual currencies such as cryptocurrencies are catalysing the transformation to a cashless society. Cashless transactions are convenient, efficient, and can often be completed in real-time. Digital payments leave an online footprint, are easier to trace, and can be protected with PINs, passwords, and encryption. International travel is made easier as wads of foreign currency no longer have to be carried to pay for goods and services while abroad. On the other hand, internet outages, power failures, system failures from cyber-attacks, and malicious scams can compromise digital transactions. Most recently, major power outages and cyber-attacks have exposed vulnerabilities for which back-up alternatives are essential.
Managing physical cash can be time-consuming and expensive. Cash is untraceable and thus preferred by criminals. Theft, money laundering, and tax evasion are linked with physical cash, which plays a key role in the ‘cash-in-hand’ black (illegal) and grey (informal) economies. The need to securely store physical money and maintain sufficient reserves of currency adds to business overheads. Coins and paper notes may accumulate dirt and germs, although newer polymer notes are safer in this respect. Handling contaminated items can be unhygienic and facilitates the transmission of infectious diseases.
The transition to a cashless society is gaining in momentum, but risks creating a “two-tier” society as banks, building societies, and ATMs continue to close and many businesses have stopped accepting physical cash. According to LINK, the UK’s main ATM network scheme operator, £80 billion was withdrawn from ATMs in 2025, compared with £119 billion in 2019. Similarly, UK Finance, a financial services lobby group, noted that cash was used for 12% of all payments in 2023, down from 51% in 2013.
Despite the unstoppable progression towards a cashless society, some people still rely on physical cash to meet their daily needs. There may even be a resurgence in cash withdrawals in some quarters, as Nationwide confirmed nearly 33 million withdrawals from its ATMs in 2024. As less people choose to carry physical cash, market traders, street performers including buskers, and others who rely on tangible money are disadvantaged. It may become necessary to mandate cash acceptance for certain essential services until there is universal access to cashless methods of payment and digital skills are widespread within the community. Banks, building societies, Post Offices, new banking hubs, and ATMs should be expected to provide access to cash for consumers, as required by the FCA’s access to cash regulations from 2024. Prepaid cards, “loaded” with money, may provide an alternative for physical cash. Vulnerable digital payment systems need to be backed up by access to tangible money in case of failure. Those who solely rely on physical cash should not be left behind as the price to pay for progress.
Ashis Banerjee