Companies like outlets and eating places could quickly should be pressured to simply accept cash and banknotes, MPs have warned, as fewer and fewer individuals choose to pay in money.
There’s a danger that the UK drifts right into a lack of money acceptance for many who depend on it, the Treasury Committee stated, making a “two-tier society.”
The cross-party group added that money utilization has decreased considerably throughout the UK. and urged the federal government to undertake a “vastly” monitoring and reporting of money acceptance ranges.
Members stated these steps could also be mandatory to stop susceptible teams grow to be excluded from group areas resembling leisure centres, theatres and public transport.
These representing susceptible sectors of society, together with individuals with studying disabilities, home abuse victims and the aged had been heard from by the committee, it stated. They discovered that these individuals reported shopping for important items and companies can value extra because the variety of locations the place they’ll spend cash and banknotes shrinks.
It added that, having heard proof on the impression of declining money acceptance on susceptible communities, MPs consider there could also be a time sooner or later when it turns into mandatory for the Treasury to mandate money acceptance, if those that depend on bodily money are usually not adequately supported.
The report stated: “There could come a time sooner or later the place it turns into mandatory for HM Treasury to mandate money acceptance if acceptable safeguards haven’t been applied for many who want bodily money, and the extent of money acceptance begins to result in widespread detriment.
“To make sure that HM Treasury has the knowledge it must make this determination, money acceptance ranges within the UK have to be monitored to make sure we don’t sleepwalk right into a lack of money acceptance for many who want it.
“HM Treasury should present the Treasury Committee with annual reporting on money acceptance ranges and supply an evaluation of HM Treasury’s view of the tolerable degree of money acceptance in society.”
The committee stated witnesses had highlighted public transport and infrastructure for motorists as areas the place money acceptance has grow to be much less frequent.
It continued: “Many witnesses recognized the issue of automotive parks having eliminated the power to pay by bodily money.”
Charities and customers additionally advised the committee that native authorities and native government-funded companies are more and more cashless.
UK companies and organisations may select to not settle for money – with no authorized responsibility to accommodate prospects’ various wants – the report warned.
It added: “For individuals who do not need financial institution accounts, who’re generally known as the ‘unbanked’, having the ability to spend bodily money is significant.”
The committee additionally heard that individuals with studying disabilities had been extra more likely to have to depend on money and may very well be severely impacted by money being refused as a type of cost.
Survivors of financial abuse in the meantime could depend on money to get by and to flee their abusers.
In January, Financial secretary to the Treasury Emma Reynolds advised a Treasury Committee listening to: “We now have no plans to manage companies to compel them to simply accept money – massive or small.”
When it was put to her that sure marginalised individuals may very well be excluded, she stated: “I believe our answer to that, by means of the monetary inclusion work that we’re doing, is to attempt to deal with digital exclusion.”
The report additionally highlighted the nationwide resilience advantages of sustaining the power to spend bodily money, significantly in relation to latest financial institution outages, which MPs had been advised led to a surge in money withdrawals.
It stated that Ross Borkett, banking director on the Submit Workplace, recognized “an enormous improve in money withdrawals on days the place there’s an outage of some type with a funds system”.
Following an IT failure at Barclays, the committee wrote to main retail banks within the UK to assemble extra data on the frequency and size of IT failures.
The letters acquired from banks indicated no less than 158 banking IT outages between January 2023 and February 2025.
It additionally stated the dearth of constant proof makes it troublesome for anybody, together with the Treasury, to find out the state of money acceptance within the UK.
Knowledge from money entry and ATM community Hyperlink in 2024 indicated that half of individuals had been someplace that didn’t settle for money or discouraged money utilization within the earlier eight weeks.
Committee chairwoman Dame Meg Hillier stated: “The Authorities is at the hours of darkness on how broadly money is being accepted and that’s fully unsustainable. We’re prone to a two-tier society the place essentially the most susceptible bear the brunt and this must be a wake-up name.
“Our committee has sought to offer a voice to these teams that are at extreme danger of not being heard by Authorities policymakers. A sizeable minority rely upon having the ability to use money and so they should not be forgotten by Whitehall.
“As a society, we should keep away from sleepwalking right into a scenario the place money is now not broadly accepted. That is the start, not the tip, of our scrutiny of this situation. The Authorities must take this severely.”
UK Finance has highlighted a big decline in the usage of money as a type of cost, the report stated. Money was used for 51 per cent of all funds in 2013, however by 2023 this had fallen to 12 per cent.
The Monetary Conduct Authority (FCA) requires banks and constructing societies designated by the Authorities to evaluate and fill gaps, or potential gaps in money entry provision that considerably impression customers and companies.
The entry to money laws apply to 14 banks and constructing societies designated by the Treasury, with Hyperlink designated as scheme operator.
If a niche in money entry companies is recognized, further companies could should be offered, resembling a banking hub or an ATM.
A milestone was just lately reached within the provision of banking hubs, with 150 having been opened.
