Select committee: Treasury Committee
Conclusion 119
6th Report - Acceptance of cash
Published 30 Apr 2025
Addressed to HM Treasury
Treasury Committee Acceptance of Cash All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
Cash is an enduring payment method that many people prefer to use and on which people who do not have equal access to non-cash payment methods rely. Although technology may progress further and reduce the number of people who rely on cash, demand for physical cash will always exist. The Government’s focus on reducing digital exclusion as part of the work of the Financial Inclusion Committee is welcome, but digital products and services may not fully solve the problem. Developing solutions to financial exclusion must include an examination of all potential options, especially where vulnerable groups face specific problems. For a significant minority of people, that risk entails not only inconvenience but partial exclusion from society. The cost will be borne by vulnerable minorities, including people in poverty, people struggling to escape domestic abusers and people with learning difficulties. (Conclusion)
From: Treasury Committee, 6th Report - Acceptance of cash (HC 324), 30 April 2025
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 12 July 2025 (deadline 30 June 2025).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government agrees with several of the Committee's aims on cash access and acceptance, says existing measures already "give strong effect to the Committee's aims", and declines to adopt periodic or annual reporting.
- On an interim assessment of the access to cash regime, it says it is "too soon for a formal evaluation", but the FCA has committed to a formal review "in due course" and intends to confirm its timings in writing to the Committee this autumn.
- It supports the continuation of the Payment Systems Regulator's work during and after consolidation, and will consult on the transfer of responsibilities to the FCA "in due course" and legislate "as soon as possible".
- It does not accept the proposed five-yearly public judgment or annual reporting on cash acceptance, stating it will instead "continue to carefully evaluate available data on an ongoing basis".
- On international approaches, it agrees it is important to keep monitoring them and says it "will continue to monitor and assess developments in other countries".