Australia Commits to Cash Access
Nov 12, 2024
The Reserve Bank of Australia has confirmed its commitment—and that of the government—to maintaining cash access, ensuring it remains available to those who rely on it for everyday expenses or choose it for budgeting, and keeping it in circulation to preserve an economy resilient to power and internet outages.
Reserve Bank Governor Michelle Bullock said in testimony to the federal parliament’s house economics committee that access to cash is ‘a sensitive issue’ following recent controversial moves—such as banks going cashless—that have threatened to destabilise it. She adds ‘this is not just a problem in Australia’ but an issue being faced in countries worldwide.
There is a minority, but a significant minority, of people who still rely heavily on cash and want to use cash. It remains an important means of payment for many Australians. The government is committed, and we are committed as well, to trying to maintain access to cash.
Bullock confirmed the central bank and federal government are ‘encouraging the industry to devise a more viable model [of cash access] for the long term.’ For the near future, a support package has been agreed with Linfox Armaguard Group—a cash transit business—and its customers to sustain cash supplies and circulation into 2025.
In addition to ensuring an inclusive economy, enabling people on low incomes and others who lack access to cashless options—or prefer not to use them—to make and receive payments, Bullock recognises the importance of cash as a store of wealth and a resilient payment method that works offline.
Cash is used as a store of wealth, particularly during periods of economic uncertainty, and can be a useful backup for electronic methods of payment.