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E-petitions relating to the acceptance of cash

The subject for this debate in Westminster Hall on 20 March 2023 at 4.30pm was determined by the House of Commons Petitions Committee . Martyn Day MP, a member of the Petitions Committee, will open the proceedings - see also Petitions Committee:results of online survey on access to cash

• Make it unlawful for shops to refuse cash payments, E-petition 605030. The petition closed on 5 July 2022 and received 33,498 signatures.
• Require all businesses and public services to accept cash payments, E-petition 622284. The petition closed on 10 March 2023 and received 25,020 signatures.

The Government has responded to the petitions saying that it “does not intend to mandate cash acceptance. The Government’s view is that as technology and consumer behaviour changes, it should remain the choice of individual organisations as to whether to accept or decline any form of payment, including cash or card based on their consideration of factors such as customer preference and cost.”

The Financial Services and Markets Bill 2022-23, currently in committee stage in the House of Lords, does however include provisions to protect access to cash.

Other Parliamentary material

Access to Cash in Scotland, House of Commons Scottish Affairs Select Committee HC 80 2022-23 and Government response

Recent parliamentary material on access to cash

Library briefings

Financial Services and Markets Bill 2022-23, 30 November 2022 

Statistics on access to cash, bank branches and ATMs, Library Briefing, 29 November 2022

The future of local banking services and access to cash, Library Briefing 8 August 2022

Websites

Cash Matters 

LINK - cash machine network

Which?

Other material [2019- ]

76 communities to have new cash services following LINK’s latest recommendations, LINK, 26 January 2023

Cash remains the most frequently used means of payment in stores but electronic payments grow further, ECB study shows, European Central Bank, 20 December 2022

Can a retailer refuse to take cash?, Convenience Store, 22 October 2022

Contactless makes up a third of all payments, while cash use falls again in 2021, UK Finance, August 2022

Death of the bank branch: How going cashless leaves millions financially stranded, New Statesman, 31 March 2022

Warning millions would struggle if cash phased out, BBC News, 30 March 2022

UK’s cash infrastructure and consumer research, Financial Conduct Authority, July 2021

What is legal tender?, Bank of England, January 2020

Full research report into cash access, use and acceptance, Payment Services Regulator, July 2019

Access to Cash Review, March 2019