Access to Cash – Final Report

Last year, the Access to Cash Review Panel was set up to consider consumer requirements for cash over the next five to fifteen years.  Alongside others , I was invited to be a member of the panel.

In July 2018, we published a Call for Evidence and, in parallel, conducted a series of workshops across the United Kingdom.   From this, we learnt that:

  • Cash use in the UK has halved in the past 10 years and is forecast to halve again in a decade’s time. In 15 years, one in every ten payments could be in cash.
  • However, cash remains a necessity for approximately eight million people (17% of the population).
  • If we go cashless too quickly, exclusion risks include: threats to rural communities; social isolation; a rise in debt; financial exploitation; and stigma towards those who rely on cash.

On 19th December 2018, we published our interim report “Access to Cash – Is Britain Ready to go Cashless”.    This can accessed here

Today (6th March), we have published the final report which sets out five recommendations for government and the industry to ensure that no one is left behind as we move towards a cashless society:

  1. Guarantee access to cash
  2. Ensure cash remains widely accepted
  3. Create a more efficient, effective and resilient wholesale cash infrastructure
  4. Make digital payments an option for everyone
  5. Ensure joined up oversight and regulation of cash

The final report can be accessed here