UK Treasury Committee Call for Evidence on Acceptance of Cash

The Treasury Committee has launched a call for evidence as it examines whether rules are needed to govern the acceptance of physical cash in the U.K. The Committee explains that the Bank of England has noted that the decline in cash usage is increasing the infrastructure costs of retaining physical cash as a viable payment method, which could lead to disruption for businesses and consumers. Meanwhile, there is a concern that cash is still being used by and is essential for certain vulnerable groups to make payments, and that the U.K. becoming over reliant on digital payments could have an impact on financial stability.

Questions in the call for evidence include:

• Whether there are groups in society that disproportionately rely on using cash.
• What practical challenges and costs businesses may face from a requirement to accept cash.
• Whether any sectors would face problems by a decline in cash acceptance.

The deadline for responses is December 2, 2024.