Closed petition Require all businesses and public services to accept cash payments
All businesses (excepting internet-based ones) and public services in which monetary transactions take place should be required by law to accept cash as a method of payment
More details
As many businesses and taxpayer-funded public services are increasingly insisting upon cashless payments, it is important that we safeguard against the potential dangers of this practice. It creates an enforced dependency on banks, even though they cannot always be trusted to act ethically, and is a threat to privacy as people cannot make anonymous payments. If we wish to uphold freedom of choice and the right to privacy, it is imperative that we protect the use of cash.
This petition is closed All petitions run for 6 months
Parliament debated this topic
This topic was debated on 20 March 2023
Government responded
This response was given on 22 September 2022
The Government does not plan to mandate cash acceptance. It is right that organisations choose the forms of payment they accept. The Government has introduced legislation to support access to cash.
The Government 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.
However, the Government recognises that millions of people continue to transact in cash across the UK, particularly those in vulnerable groups, and engages closely with financial regulators to monitor and assess trends relating to cash. Research undertaken by the Financial Conduct Authority found that 98% of small businesses would never turn away a customer if they needed to pay by cash.
The Government has recently introduced legislation to protect access to cash as part of the Financial Services and Markets Bill. The Bill establishes the Financial Conduct Authority as the lead regulator for cash access and provides it with appropriate powers to seek to ensure reasonable provision of withdrawal and deposit facilities. The Government considers that this legislation will support organisations, including local businesses, to continue accepting cash by ensuring they have reasonable access to deposit facilities.
Following the Government’s commitment to legislate, firms are working together through the Cash Action Group to develop new initiatives to provide shared services, such as bank hubs.
HM Treasury
Related activity
Share your views on shops accepting cash
The MPs on the Petitions Committee have scheduled a debate on two petitions about the acceptance of cash by businesses:
- Make it unlawful for shops to refuse cash payments
- Require all businesses and public services to accept cash payments
Martyn Day MP, a member of the Petitions Committee, has been asked to open the debate, which will take place on Monday 20 March.
Share your views
To inform the debate, we would like to hear from you about your experience of paying for goods and services using cash, including any cases of having cash payments refused.
You can share your views with us by completing this survey: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=nt3mHDeziEC-Xo277ASzSpMLsAawCSdBvMh9cdt5o9ZUQ1NBSjUyV01EVzQxWlZCSkI3UjZDSE1QSC4u
The survey will close on Thursday 9 March at 10am.
Your responses will be anonymous. A summary of responses will be published on the Parliament website. It will also be shared with MPs and may be referred to in the debate or within other parliamentary documents. Please don't share anything that may identify you.
Watch the debate
The debate will take place on Monday 20 March at 4.30pm.
- Watch the debate
- Read a transcript of the debate (available a few hours after the debate happens)
What are petitions debates?
Petitions debates are ‘general’ debates which allow MPs from all parties to discuss the important issues raised by one or more petitions, and put their concerns to Government Ministers.
Petition debates don’t end with a vote to implement the request of a petition. This means that MPs will not vote on whether businesses are required to accept cash at the end of the debate.
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MPs debate the acceptance of cash
The Petitions Committee scheduled a debate in the House of Commons on the petition you signed. This took place on Monday 20 March 2023. A member of the Committee, Martyn Day MP, opened the debate.
Read a summary of what was said, watch the debate and access other relevant material:
The acceptance of cash
The summary includes the results of a survey we ran ahead of the debate, to hear about the experience of people paying for goods and services using cash, including any cases of having cash payments refused.
What are petitions debates?
Petitions debates are ‘general’ debates which allow MPs from all parties to discuss the important issues raised by one or more petitions and put their concerns to Government Ministers.
Petition debates don’t end with a vote to implement the request of a petition. This means that MPs will not vote on whether businesses and services should be required to accept of cash at the end of the debate.
Get involved in the work of the UK Parliament
Sign up to the Your UK Parliament newsletter for the latest information on how to get involved and make a difference.