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Australians To Be ‘Fined’ For Using Cash

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

SIDNEY, AUSTRALIA (Worthy News) – The new governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has warned that access to cash will become harder for Australians and that banks and other users of banknotes or coins should face fees for moving it around.

Michele Bullock suggested that having cash users bear additional costs “would aid” the country of 26.5 million people moving towards a cashless society.

Speaking at this week’s Australian Payments Network Summit, Bullock also said Australians may need to travel further to access cash services in the future. She noticed that cash access points, including bank branches and automated teller machines (ATMs), continue to disappear.

“The declining use of cash is … challenging the provision of retail cash services,” she stressed in published remarks. “This has been evident in the significant reduction in the number of cash access points over recent years, including ATMs and bank branches.”

Yet, “Despite this, the distance people need to travel to access cash services has been little changed in recent years. But this may not be the case in the future if access points continue to decline.”

The pressure on people to use electronic payment options already contributed to a dramatic decline in customers carrying traditional money.

DECLINING CASH

Bullock claimed the use of cash had declined from 70 percent of transactions in 2007 to just 13 percent last year. “The use of cash for payments has been declining for many years as consumers have switched to digital payments,” she noticed.

Yet Bullock acknowledged that cash is handy during disasters when electronic payment options disappear as snow in heavy sunshine.

Australia’s major banks were to weigh their options in an emergency meeting this week amid warnings from the Lindsay Fox-owned Armaguard, a near-monopoly cash transport firm, that it needs an injection of funds to ensure it can operate, according to sources familiar with the situation.

“The RBA places a high priority on the community continuing to have reasonable access to cash withdrawal and deposit services,” Bullock said in Sydney on Tuesday.

“These discussions are ongoing, and industry, regulators, and government will need to continue to work together to put in place sustainable arrangements for cash distribution.”

However, critics were likely to argue that suggested fees could further discourage Australians from using the printed or minted versions of their Australian dollar.