150,000 People Sign Petition Against Cashless Society

Daniel Munoz/Reuters

A petition calling for a guarantee of cash and banking services in Australia has received more than 150,000 signatures, since its launch in late March by Jason Bryce from Cash Welcome.

The goal is to reach 200,000 signatures.

In an update to “cash lovers” on Nov. 15, Mr. Bryce said Australia needs to follow the UK, Europe, Sweden, and the U.S. to guarantee the future of cash.

He noted that the UK requires banks to make sure every citizen has access to a fee-free ATM within three miles of their home, while Europe requires retailers to accept cash payments.

“All we are asking for is what other countries are doing for their citizens: 1) A right to local access to our cash and banking services. 2) A right to choose cash to pay for food and essentials,” Mr. Bryce said.

He noted the federal government is currently considering new laws to modernise payments in Australia.

“These new laws will determine the future of cash in Australia,” Mr. Bryce said.

The proposed amendments, part of a public consultation launched on Oct. 11, aim to empower the Reserve Bank of Australia in regulating new and emerging payments, including digital wallets.

The minister also would gain power to oversee platforms posing risks of national significance.

Surcharge Fee Concern

Concerns over surcharge fees were highlighted in a recent Facebook post by Cash Welcome, which featured a business offering a 10 percent discount if businesses pay with cash, compared to a 2 percent surcharge for paying with cards.

“12% discount for paying with cash! That sounds about right. Retailers pay thousands of dollars every month to accept card payments. Consumers can pay around 2% every time they tap to buy goods and services,” Cash Welcome said.

“Take control of your money and spending—stop paying fees every time you buy something. You could be wasting $1K per year just on card surcharge fees.”

In October, news emerged that 424 physical bank branches and 718 automatic teller machines were closed in the 2023 financial year.

Since 2017, branch numbers have fallen by 34 percent in regional and remote areas and 37 percent in Australia, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority figures show.

ATM numbers, on the other hand, fell by 59 percent in the six years from the end of the June financial year to the end of the 2023 financial year.

People walk past a National Australia Bank branch in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, on Oct. 27, 2023. Susan Mortimer/The Epoch Times

These developments have fueled concerns about Australia’s potential shift toward a cashless society, a spotlight heightened by the recent Optus network outage.

Local government authorities, about 40,000 businesses, and 10 million customers were unable to process EFTPOS payments.

This included coffee shops, wine bars, bowling alleys, and hotels nationwide.

Optus Outage Sheds Light on Cashless Fears

The outage prompted Liberal National Party senator for Queensland Gerard Rennick to call for bank branches to remain open for cash access.

Businesses like the Break Away cafe in Esperance, Western Australia, underscored the importance of cash during the outage, declaring “cash is king“ when EFTPOS facilities became unavailable.

Local government areas, including MidCoast Council in New South Wales, faced challenges in processing payments and taking calls during the Optus outage.

Orange Ten Pin Bowl and Dubbo Tenpin Bowl also had to advise customers to use cash, reflecting that “at times like this you realise that a cashless world is not the best thing.”

One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts also raised concerns getting rid of cash is a national security issue, in a post to X (formerly Twitter).

“In the event of future conflict with a hostile nation like China our telecommunications network would be the first target,” Mr. Roberts said.

“With no cash redundancy to an internet world, a hostile nation could immediately grind our entire commerce and country to a halt.”