Businesses 'may need to be forced to accept cash to prevent two-tier society'

30 April 2025, 00:07

Businesses may need to be forced to accept coins and notes to ensure the country does not exclude those who rely on cash, the Treasury Committee has warned.

The committee said cash usage has decreased significantly across the UK and it is urging the Government to undertake a “vastly improved” monitoring and reporting of cash acceptance levels.

Not doing so could risk creating a two-tier society, where vulnerable groups become excluded from community spaces such as leisure centres, theatres and public transport, it added.

The committee said it has heard from those representing vulnerable sectors of society, including people with learning disabilities, domestic abuse victims and the elderly, that buying essential goods and services can cost more, as the number of places where they can spend coins and banknotes shrinks.

It added that, MPs believe there may be a time in the future when it becomes necessary for the Treasury to mandate cash acceptance, if those who rely on physical cash are not adequately supported.

The report said: “There may come a time in the future where it becomes necessary for HM Treasury to mandate cash acceptance if appropriate safeguards have not been implemented for those who need physical cash, and the level of cash acceptance begins to lead to widespread detriment.

“To ensure that HM Treasury has the information it needs to make this decision, cash acceptance levels in the UK must be monitored to ensure we do not sleepwalk into a loss of cash acceptance for those who need it."

Witnesses had highlighted public transport and infrastructure for motorists as areas where cash acceptance has become less common.

The committee continued: “Many witnesses identified the problem of car parks having removed the ability to pay by physical cash.”

Charities and consumers also told the committee that local government and local government-funded services are increasingly cashless.

UK businesses and organisations could choose not to accept cash – with no legal duty to accommodate customers’ varying needs – the report warned.

It added: “For people who do not have bank accounts, who are sometimes referred to as the ‘unbanked’, being able to spend physical cash is vital.”

The committee also heard that people with learning disabilities were more likely to need to rely on cash and could be severely impacted by cash being refused as a form of payment. Survivors of economic abuse meanwhile may rely on cash to get by and to escape their abusers.

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In January, Economic secretary to the Treasury Emma Reynolds told a Treasury Committee hearing: “We have no plans to regulate businesses to compel them to accept cash – big or small.”

When it was put to her that certain marginalised people could be excluded, she said: “I think our solution to that, through the financial inclusion work that we’re doing, is to try to tackle digital exclusion.”

Data from cash access and ATM network Link in 2024 indicated that half of people had been somewhere that did not accept cash or discouraged cash usage in the previous eight weeks.

Committee chairwoman Dame Meg Hillier said: “The Government is in the dark on how widely cash is being accepted and that is completely unsustainable. We are at risk of a two-tier society where the most vulnerable bear the brunt and this needs to be a wake-up call.

“Our committee has sought to give a voice to those groups which are at severe risk of not being heard by Government policymakers. A sizeable minority depend on being able to use cash and they must not be forgotten by Whitehall.

“As a society, we must avoid sleepwalking into a situation where cash is no longer widely accepted. This is the beginning, not the end, of our scrutiny of this issue. The Government needs to take this seriously.”

A Treasury spokesperson said: “Cash continues to be used by millions of people across the UK and we are working with the banks to roll out 350 hubs by the end of this Parliament so that people and businesses in areas that have lost local bank branches still have access to it.

“We welcome businesses who do want to continue accepting cash and new rules introduced by the Financial Conduct Authority support this by helping them to make deposits.”