Cash Action
How to: Should Cash be Mandated Consultation and Debate
As we know it is becoming harder and harder to use cash with many places going cashless. We believe that it is important for all businesses to accept cash payments, as it is a fundamental human right to have access to legal tender. Refusing to accept cash can lead to financial exclusion and discrimination against certain groups of people who may not have access to digital payment methods or the ability to use them. Furthermore as all cashless payments are trackable it raises questions about our right to privacy.
The Government is currently running a consultation, ahead of a debate, about whether they should mandate the acceptance of cash. This has arisen after there were two petitions on this subject. We are generally opposed to mandates but we feel that on balance the discrimination of not taking cash is worse than the mandate. It would be a mandate to uphold basic human rights and freedoms.
If you want to help to keep cash in circulation please take the actions below.
Email your MP
Deadline 20th March
This is a Westminster Hall debate which are often poorly attended. However if enough people email their MP and request that they attend in advance they are much more likely to. So lets do our best to get that debate packed out!
If you use the form below we will email your MP on your behalf, setting out concerns about how we are headed to a cashless society, why it should be mandated for businesses to take cash and to request they attend the debate on 20th March.
If you choose to “Opt in” we will send further emails to your MP on your behalf on these dates:
- Fri 17th March – to remind them of the debate on Monday.
- Mon 20th March – in the morning to check it’s in the diary.
- Thurs 23rd March – to either thank them for attending or to ask why they didn’t.
- Thurs 30th March – to offer more suggestions of things they can do in their constituency to protect cash.
If you would rather just send the one email then just don’t select the “Opt in” check box and only one email will go to your MP today.
Cash consultation
Complete the Consultation
Deadline 9th March
This consultation is thankfully easier that the Digital ID one.
Using the guide below it should take around 5-15 minutes to complete.
Please use the bullet points as inspiration and starting points to then expand on. The survey is designed to obtain personal stories so please do personalise it as much as possible.
Share, share, share
Help get the word out
As always this is a numbers game. Unfortunately MP’s aren’t prone to listen to sound arguments unless it’s being said by many of us, simultaneously. So please share about this far and wide on all social media channels as the deadline is soon. These are the most recent posts:
Thank you for being part of the solution and the fight to KEEP CASH!
