Cash transactions have increased for the second year in a row, likely influenced by economic changes and the push to resist complete digital surveillance of everyday life by using cash rather than cards to buy things. the industry says.
Bank abolitionist and Brexit leader Nigel Farage has called for digital transactions to completely disrupt everyday life to prevent banks from being able to arbitrarily cut off a person's ability to pay in situations such as: He has long emphasized the importance of ensuring that cash does not dominate, saying that “cash is king.'' We can say that they have the wrong political views. Cash remains useful as the British Retail Federation says its use has increased for the second year in a row and a slow fightback has begun after decades of card decline. There seems to be a widespread belief that there is.
Nearly a fifth of all transactions in the UK last year were in coins and notes, or 19.9%, up from 18.8% in 2022. Cards remain dominant, accounting for 75% of transactions, and cash has significantly declined from many merchants. As of 2013, it represented half of all transactions.
British Retail Consortium state Part of the explanation for the return to paper money is the economic climate, where many people are turning to cash as an easy way to budget because they can't overspend money they don't physically hold. It becomes. Their spokesperson said: “Cash remains an important means of payment for a significant minority of people, particularly in their role in budgeting. Therefore, given the recent tightening of living costs, cash remains an important means of payment for many households. It has become important.”
Importantly, this return to physical money comes at a time when more businesses, venues and services are beginning to reject cash altogether and insist on paying by card. Activists say this is a serious problem for groups in society, such as the elderly and less affluent people, who do not have bank accounts or the knowledge to use mobile banking.
As digital payments come under complete surveillance and traditional money can no longer be relied upon, individuals may be unable to pay in the event of technical errors or even 'debanking' by financial institutions. Some people have expressed concern about the demise of cash. To withdraw the service. The Swedish government recently emphasized the usefulness of cash in emergencies, and in its recommendations on war preparedness, advised citizens to hold a week's worth of cash in case their digital payment systems were subject to a cyber attack. I asked for it.
Brexit leader Nigel Farage was the victim of an attempted debankment attempt by Britain's biggest banks and continues to campaign on behalf of other similarly affected banks. He warned of the dangers of a “cashless society,” citing the 2023 protests by Canadian truck drivers who were punished by having their bank accounts frozen for disobeying the Canadian government.
At that time he said: “Look, it happened in Canada. Think about truck drivers in Canada. People who have been working legally for years suddenly have a requirement to get vaccinated, and a lot of people don't agree to it. They protested peacefully in Ottawa, but what is Prime Minister Justin Trudeau doing? He froze their bank accounts, in a very scary way. It can be exploited.”
Mr Farage delivered a 300,000-signature “Don't Kill Cash'' petition to Downing Street, calling on the government to “remove the status of cash as legal tender and as a widely accepted means of payment.'' “protection'' and called for a reversal of progress towards a cashless society. , says: [cash] It will be permanently replaced by debit cards, credit cards and other electronic payments. These are more costly in the long run and allow third parties to track you and your spending. ”
Just hours after the petition was filed, the government announced it would impose fines on banks that failed to protect access to cash.
