The Future of Cash is Bright in Ireland

Ireland has seen its share of ‘cashless creep’, but with businesses facing backlash when they attempt to remove cash as a payment option, and policy moving towards recognition of the ‘enduring societal demand for cash’, the future looks bright for payment choice.

Writing for RTÉ, Dr Olive McCarthy, senior lecturer and director of the Centre for Cooperative Studies at the Cork University Business School, observes that ‘the recent removal—or attempted removal—of the choice to pay in cash by some service providers has led to increased awareness of the importance of retaining access to and acceptance of cash for an inclusive society.’

She adds that cashless creep is occurring more subtly in places such as car parks, laundrettes, garage forecourts, public toilets and festivals. In addition to some cash-only services, others carry a ‘cash premium’, with the TFI Leap public transport card offering fares at up to 30 percent less when paying cashless.

Despite this, there is reason for optimism, with the Department of Finance’s 2022 Retail Banking Review noting ‘enduring societal demand for cash’ and stating that ‘a cashless society may never emerge.’ The department’s recommended access to cash legislation is understood to be well under way.

Further support for cash was provided by Minister for Finance Michael McGrath, who asked public bodies to continue accepting cash payments while the National Payments Strategy is finalised. The terms of reference for this strategy include the possibility of cash acceptance legislation that would likely cover specific classes of firm or sector where inclusivity demands payment choice.

These moves are in line with other European nations such as France and Spain, where refusal to accept cash payments is a legal offence, and others such as Sweden and Norway that are moving to support cash as part of resilience strategies. In addition to its benefits to economic inclusion, cash is also the only payment method that doesn’t require electricity or an internet connection to function, making it valuable in emergency situations or other occasions when infrastructure goes down.

Dr McCarthy cites data from the Department of Finance’s 2023 Consumer Banking Survey, which found 94 percent of adults use cash, and one in four prefer it above other payment methods, marking a small rise over the 2022 study.

She concludes that ‘measures to support access to cash go hand-in-glove with measures to support acceptance of cash’, with the Eurosystem Cash Strategy clearly stating the importance of recognising citizens’ right to access and spend their money as they choose.

The strategy also states that ‘ensuring cash is accepted everywhere is a vital part of the payment system’ and the Retail Banking Review has said ‘this policy should ensure Irish consumers are not charged to withdraw cash from a domestic ATM.’

While policy is moving in a positive direction, cashless creep remains a threat to payment choice, and Dr McCarthy suggests: ‘More research on the issues of cash acceptance from the perspective of both consumers and businesses and other service providers would be insightful.’