The UK Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has responded to the interim Access to Cash Review “Is Britain Ready to Go Cashless”.
In July 2018, the Access to Cash Review was launched to look at the future of cash access across the UK. Chaired by Natalie Ceeney CBE, the review was commissioned in response to the rapid decline in the use of cash, amid growing societal concerns about whether people are being left behind because they are unable to either use or access cash in an increasingly digital society.
The first report, published in December 2018, summarises trends in cash use and looks at the role of technology both in driving changes in payment behaviour, and as a force for inclusion and exclusion.
In its response to the first of Natalie Ceeney’s reports, the PSR states that the report reinforces the PSR’s view that cash will continue to be important for years to come, and echoes the PSR’s own work and concerns that people need to continue to have a choice when it comes to making payments – be it with cash or another method.
The full Access to Cash report, due to be published in early 2019, will explore the end-to-end cash cycle and will propose a concrete set of actions for policy makers, regulators and commercial entities. The Review wants to make sure that people can access cash for as long as they need, while working to ensure that everyone can be part of a digital society.