A Win in UK Against Cash Banning By Richard Miller (London)
Time for some good news for a change. After public protest, the UK government will now impose fines on banks who fail to protect access of cash to people, which now cash campaigner Nigel Farage, who was debanked some months back, saw as a great win. Although the banks have been tamed, there is still the issue of retailers not accepting cash, thus bringing in the cashless society by the back door. Obviously, that is the next frontier to fight. But, it gives hope to Australians who are facing the fast advance of the Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC) and banks not dealing in cash. To stop this people must mobilise as occurred here. It can be done, and good luck to you Aussies!
“The government will set unlimited fines for banks that fail to protect access to cash, the Treasury said, in a major move against the march towards a cashless society campaigner Nigel Farage has called a “big win”.
Banks in the United Kingdom will have to provide free-to-access cash withdrawals and deposits within one mile of a person’s home in urban areas and within three miles in rural areas according to new laws and rules being rolled out by the government to protect cash. Yet some pro-cash campaigners point out the change doesn’t go far enough, as retailers are still perfectly entitled to refuse to accept cash as payment.
The announcement comes after months of campaigning against the encroaching cashless society and debanking being led by Brexit’s Nigel Farage, and was announced just hours after Farage and co-signatories delivered a petition to the government demanding cash be protected for decades to come.
Among the new rules are provisions for both people who want to be able to access cash locally to them, and for businesses so they can easily deposit the cash they take from the public with their bank, both intended to keep cash as convenient as possible.
The powers, which are backed up by potentially massive fines to be imposed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) would also prevent banks from closing local branches unless some provision for cash access was arranged for in their place. Bank branch closures have been a major feature of the past decade, moving from a world where most British big banks had a branch in every sizable town to one where long travel to undertake basic banking has become the norm for many, alongside a push towards digital by the banks themselves.
Mr Farage called the news: “Another big win against the banks.”
Speaking to GB News, the British broadcaster who has been instrumental in the campaign to keep cash in recent weeks, Economic Secretary to the Treasury Andrew Griffith MP said of the announcement: “cash is important, it’s here to stay for the long term. Many people the elderly, the vulnerable, particularly rural communities, do depend on that access to cash.
“And if we want our shops to continue to take cash over the counter, then, of course, those businesses have got to have somewhere to deposit it. So the rules we’re announcing also cover the ability of businesses to deposit cash in a location that this convenient to them”.
The FCA also responded, reports the Daily Telegraph, saying: “these new powers will help ensure access to cash is maintained for many businesses and people who continue to rely on it.
“In the autumn we will consult on new rules that will require banks to maintain reasonable access to cash… We look forward to the Government outlining which firms our new access to cash rules will apply to inform this vital work.”
Yet for cash campaigners, the new rules may not go far enough. Indeed, what was announced last night seems to not differ meaningfully from what the government was already discussing earlier this year, meaning the Conservatives may be trying to ride on the coat-tails of the popularity of Farage’s campaign, rather than truly reacting to the shocking revelations and introducing all-new changes.”
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