On 30 April 2025, the House of Commons Treasury Committee published a report on the acceptance of cash.

Background

The acceptance of physical currency in the UK is not currently specified in legislation, meaning that UK businesses and organisations can choose which payment methods they accept without a legal duty to accommodate customers’ varying needs. The Treasury Committee decided in November 2024 to consider the acceptance of cash and it held three evidence sessions between December 2024 and January 2025 as well as two roundtable sessions in January 2025.

Findings

The Committee notes that a lack of consistent evidence makes it difficult to determine the state of cash acceptance in the UK, and calls on the Government to undertake “vastly improved monitoring and reporting of cash acceptance levels”. It warns that, without these improvements, there is a risk of creating a two-tier system where vulnerable groups become excluded from community spaces such as leisure centres, theatres and public transport. 

Members of the Committee flag that it may become necessary in the future for HM Treasury to mandate cash acceptance if those who rely on physical cash are not adequately supported, although the Economic Secretary to the Treasury stated when appearing before the Committee that there were “no plans to regulate businesses, big or small, to compel them to accept cash”.

The report also highlights the national resilience benefits of maintaining the ability to spend physical cash, particularly in relation to recent bank outages which the Committee was told led to a surge in cash withdrawals.