Shops could be forced to accept cash in future, MPs warn

30 April 2025

Kevin Peachey

Cost of living correspondent

BBC Signs showing prices on a fruit and veg stall, including £1.50 each for celeriac, with a couple shopping in the background.

Shops and services may have to be forced to accept cash in the future to help protect vulnerable people who rely on it, MPs have said.

A Treasury Committee report into cash acceptance stopped short of recommending a change in the law, but said the government had to improve its monitoring of the issue.

"There may come a time in the future where it becomes necessary for HM Treasury to mandate cash acceptance if appropriate safeguards have not been implemented for those who need physical cash," the report said.

Some countries, such as Australia or parts of the EU, are planning requirements to accept cash for essential services in some circumstances.

Poverty

In evidence to the inquiry, a government minister said there were no plans to make cash acceptance mandatory.

Shops and services can currently accept whichever form of payment they want.

With an increasing number going card-only, the committee said prices would rise for essential goods and services in the remaining outlets that accepted cash.

That would create a poverty for those who wanted to use cash to budget, as well as for vulnerable groups such as people with learning difficulties and the elderly.

"A sizeable minority depend on being able to use cash," said Dame Meg Hillier, who chairs the influential Treasury Committee.

She said the report should be a "wake-up call" about the risks of ignoring those affected by the falling use of banknotes and coins.

Dame Meg Hillier was one of the MPs on the committee who visited Darlington's Victorian Covered Market as part of the inquiry

Dame Meg Hillier holding a purse and chatting with a greengrocer at Darlington's Victorian Covered Market who is wearing a green work tunic and gloves. — Dame Meg Hillier was one of the MPs on the committee who visited Darlington's Victorian Covered Market as part of the inquiry

The committee called on the government to "vastly improve" monitoring and reporting of cash acceptance levels.

Otherwise it warned it risked people being excluded from leisure centres, theatres or public transport. It also heard evidence about frustrated motorists unable to pay by cash in car parks.

"The government is in the dark on how widely cash is being accepted and that is completely unsustainable," said Dame Meg.

There was particular concern for victims of domestic and economic abuse who need cash to avoid being traced through card transactions or to gain financial independence from abusive partners.