Central Bank of Ireland: Stores Can’t Refuse Cash Payments

The rapid rise in popularity of digital and contactless payments in Ireland has caught the attention of a leading consumer association when some stores reportedly started turning down cash payments from customers, the Independent reported on Wednesday (Dec. 29).

Shoppers in Ireland can’t be forced to use digital payment means and cash should be accepted everywhere, the Central Bank of Ireland said in response to the complaint by the Consumers’ Association of Ireland.

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Research conducted by the central bank points to over-the-top forecasts that cash was on its deathbed. While digital payments were more popular, cash is still very much being used.

The Consumers’ Association of Ireland contacted the government to ensure that shoppers still had the right to pay with cash, especially as the rise in popularity of alternate payment methods continues to escalate and expand. The consumer group alleged that there were some Irish shops refusing to take cash altogether.

Dermott Jewell, senior policy advisor for the Consumers’ Association of Ireland, told the news outlet that the government and appropriate regulators should remind merchants that cash must be accepted as a payment option.

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Jewell alleged that some merchants, encouraged by banks, used the pandemic as an anti-cash tool, while others banned cash outright and instituted contactless payments, the Independent reported.

“Ireland has never been a cashless society for the very good reason that cash is hugely popular,” Jewell told the news outlet.

Jewell added that not everyone has a lifestyle that fits contactless payments. He pointed to people living on an allowance as one example.

Contactless payments in Ireland were up, close to $100 million, in the third quarter of 2021, compared to the same time period in 2019, which was just a few months before the pandemic started spreading worldwide.