RBA Supports Continued Use of Cash but Warns of ‘Very Expensive’ Handling Costs

The RBA said it currently had no solution for maintaining a stable cash distribution in Australia in the long term.

A woman pays for her purchases at the Queen Victoria Market in Melbourne, Australia, on July 11, 2014. Scott Barbour/Getty Images

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is backing the continued use of hard cash in Australia but notes that storing and transferring physical currency is becoming “very expensive.”

At a recent parliamentary inquiry hearing, RBA governor Michele Bullock stressed that the central bank would continue to support cash despite its declining role in the economy.