The Minister for Finance has said “cash remains the preferred form of payment” for many people in the country as a new Government Bill was published today (Wednesday, July 31) to ensure that “sufficient and effective access to cash is available”.
The Access to Cash Bill is a response to the results of a Retail Banking Review, carried out by the Department of Finance and other government agencies, which highlighted that people still want to have the option to pay in cash.
In recent years Ireland has seen the departure from the market of one of the country’s oldest retail banks, Ulster Bank and also KBC, which previously had operated for more than 40 years here.
Both the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) and the Irish Creamery and Milk Suppliers Association (ICMSA) have previously warned that some banks services have been reduced in rural communities because of the number of bank branches that have closed and also because of the withdrawal of certain ATM services.
Today the Minister for Finance, Jack Chambers, said cash continues to play an “important role” in the Irish economy.
Minister Chambers added: “Cash is important to consumers in all walks of life because it is a private, secure, and instant form of payment.
“It is a budgeting tool for many, and it allows individuals to maintain their financial independence.
“It is imperative to ensure that cash remains widely available and accessible, protect the economy when technology is not a viable option, and ensure that those who rely on cash can do so into the future”.
He said the new Bill also aims to “put in place a framework” to ensure that people can access cash in the future and places a new obligation on the three main retail banks to ensure that:
- A specified percentage of the population must be within no less than 5km and no more than 10km of an ATM;
- There is a specified number of ATMs per 100,000 people;
- A specified percentage of the population must be within no less than 5km and no more than 10km of a cash service point – either a bank branch or a post office.
In addition the Bill allows the Minister for Finance, following consultation with the Central Bank of Ireland, to make regulations that prohibit or cap the maximum access fee that can be charged if access fees are introduced in the future because “they become a barrier to cash access and decrease financial inclusion”.