Australia: Petition Calls for Cash and Banking Guarantee

Banks are deserting towns and suburbs, leaving Australians without access to cashMoney in physical form such as banknotes and coins. More and banking services.

Millions of Australian consumers and businesses trust and rely on cash for everyday needs and budgeting purposes. Even Australians who don’t attend banks or use cash regularly need access to face-to-face banking services and physical moneyFrom the Latin word moneta, nickname that was given by Romans to the goddess Juno because there was a minting workshop next to her temple. Money is any item that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular region, country or socio-economic context. Its onset dates back to the origins of humanity and its physical representation has taken on very varied forms until the appearance of metal coins. The banknote, a typical representati... More sometimes.

“Australia must follow other countries and move to protect our right to access and use cash,” said Jason Bryce, spokesperson for the Cash Welcome campaign. “Physical cash is publicly-owned essential national economic infrastructure. Going cashless represents a privatisation of our money system and means we have to pay to use our own money.” he added.

Without a guarantee of access to complete banking services and physical cash and a guaranteed right to use cash to buy food and essentials:

• Local economies are weaker and vulnerable to system outages.
• Many vulnerable people are effectively excluded from the economy.
• Businesses are harder to manage.

A Petition has Gathered over 125,000 Signatures.

Cash Welcome has launched a petition on changeThis is the action by which certain banknotes and/or coins are exchanged for the same amount in banknotes/coins of a different face value, or unit value. See Exchange. More.org that calls for an Australian Banking and Cash Guarantee that includes these rights:

1)      All Australians must have reasonable local access to cash and full banking services.

2)      All Australians must be able to choose cash when paying for food and essentials at physical retailers.

At the time of writing, 125,000 people have signed the petition.

Cash Provides Resilience to the Australian Payment System

The Senate’s Rural and Regional Affairs Committee is investigating the extent and impact of bank closures in regional Australia, particularly on access to cash.

In June 2023, the Treasury published its strategic plan for Australia’s Payments System. The report notes that the use of cash for retail payments has declined significantly, from 27 % in 2019 to 17% in 2022. However, the increase in cash in circulationThe value (or number of units) of the banknotes and coins in circulation within an economy. Cash in circulation is included in the M1 monetary aggregate and comprises only the banknotes and coins in circulation outside the Monetary Financial Institutions (MFI), as stated in the consolidated balance sheet of the MFIs, which means that the cash issued and held by the MFIs has been subtracted (“cash reserves”). Cash in circulation does not include the balance of the central bank’s own banknot... More indicates the importance of store-of-value motivations for holding cash, potentially for uncertain circumstances.

The report emphasizes that “The cash system also provides resilience to the Australia paymentA transfer of funds which discharges an obligation on the part of a payer vis-à-vis a payee. More systemin times of natural disaster, crises and network outages. While consumers’ preference for everyday payments is trending towards digital, it is important that the payments system continues to include, and be accessible to, all Australians.”

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