Should shops be made to always accept physical cash? Poll of the week

With more and more businesses no longer accepting cash payments, is it time for the government to step in?

James Hockaday
Updated ·2 min read

Yahoo UK's poll of the week lets you vote and indicate your strength of feeling on one of the week's hot topics. After the poll closes, we'll publish and analyse the results each Friday, giving readers the chance to see how polarising a topic has become and if their view chimes with other Yahoo UK readers.

A shopkeeper (L) passes a customer their change in GBP pound sterling ten and twenty pound notes, at a shop in east London on March 31, 2023. (Photo by Susannah Ireland / AFP) / TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY Akshata KAPOOR (Photo by SUSANNAH IRELAND/AFP via Getty Images)
The use of cash has been in steady decline in the UK over the past decade. (Getty Images)

A committee of MPs is calling for evidence on whether new rules are needed to make it mandatory for some businesses to accept physical cash.

The use of cash in the UK has been in significant decline over the past decade, with industry data showing it was used in just 12% of transactions in 2023. The number of people who don't carry cash has trebled since 2019, according to research by ATM network LINK, despite 71% of people still relying on cash to some extent on a daily basis.

There are currently no regulations which require businesses to accept cash, which the Treasury committee suggests could be a problem for some institutions and vulnerable people.

Setting out a new inquiry into the issue, the committee points to research suggesting that cash "can provide a vital lifeline to groups such as those with long term poor health or people at risk of economic abuse".

It says 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".

England, Kent, Folkestone, Folkstone Harbour, Britannia Hotel Chain The Grand Burstin Hotel, We are now Cashless Bar Sign
A number of businesses have been going cashless in recent years, but is the UK ready for this change? (Alamy)

"Others have highlighted the dangers of an over-reliance on digital payments, suggesting cash acceptance should be viewed as a form of civil preparedness," the committee adds.

In April, the FT Adviser noted that "some people with physical and cognitive disabilities" may find electronic payment methods more difficult to navigate, and that "people on the margins of society will suffer".

"Charity collections are already down, student buskers may be no more, and privacy – not always for nefarious reasons – will be lost," the website adds.

Despite these concerns, however, an increasing number of businesses in the UK have stopped accepting cash, partly as a way of speeding up transactions and tracking finances, and also to reduce the risk of theft.

Many businesses in the UK also went cashless during the COVID-19 pandemic to reduce the chance of spreading the virus, although risk of transmission via banknotes is low, according to research by the Bank of England, which reported a partial uptick of cash use after lockdown.

But what do you think? Should the government make it mandatory for shops to accept hard cash? And how much do you care about a transition to a cashless society? Let us know in the polls below.

Read more of Yahoo UK's Poll of the Week articles

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