Andy Preston, former mayor of Middlesbrough, has called on Andy Burnham to introduce legislation requiring businesses and councils to accept cash, arguing that government advice to keep notes at home for emergencies is undermined by the continued decline of cash payments.
Preston notes that governments across Europe and beyond are telling citizens to keep cash at home in case of an emergency, and that Defence Secretary Wes Streeting recently recommended keeping cash and provisions at home in case of a power outage. In a major outage, shops would be unable to accept cards and cash machines would have no power, making the advice sensible.
Swiss and Swedish precedent
Preston contrasts this with what he calls Andy Burnham's approach to cash, warning that the UK is "sleepwalking into a cashless society" with too many shops, cafes and other places refusing to accept cash. He points to Switzerland, where the government has written protections for the country's currency and cash supply into the constitution following overwhelming public support, and where the central bank is required to keep notes and coins moving through the economy.
In Geneva, cafes, restaurants and hotels are legally obliged to accept cash. Sweden has gone further, with food shops and chemists with staffed checkouts legally required to accept cash since July, with some exceptions. Preston also cites New York State, which has passed laws ensuring its 20 million citizens can spend notes and coins in shops whether the shop prefers cards or not.
Impact of cashless decline
Preston argues that letting shops say "cards only" reduces people's inclination to use cash, hastening the demise of notes and coins, the only money people can touch and hand to another human. He says avoiding real money makes things more difficult for those who struggle with technology or find it hard to manage budgets unless they can see the money in their hand.
He highlights national power cuts in Spain and Portugal last year, when shops were unable to take card payments and people could not get cash from machines, and warns this could happen when people need food, medicine or petrol.
Call for legislation
Preston criticises decision makers as "shockingly laid back, even uninterested", noting that weeks ago a Treasury minister confirmed there is "no current plan for legislation" to make anyone accept cash, describing taking money as "voluntary", "whether it is a car park, a retailer or the rest of it". He says some of the worst offenders are council car parks and leisure centres, with many councils now completely cashless.
He calls on Andy Burnham to "urgently pass a law" requiring food retailers, chemists and petrol stations to take cash, as well as every council office and car park run with public money, and to put a cash law in the King's Speech.
