An Irish MEP has said that she will support amendments to a new EU regulation in order to ensure it allows people to use cash instead of a credit/debit card in their daily business if they wish.
Ireland South MEP Cynthia Ní Mhurchú claimed that card-only policies discriminate against pensioners who prefer to use cash.
She said that amendments that she would be supporting to the EU Regulation on the Legal Tender of Euro Banknotes and Coins would ensure the rights of people to use cash in their everyday lives across the EU.
These amendments will ensure that businesses cannot refuse cash, Ní Mhurchú said.
The Fianna Fáil MEP said that cash is an important driver of economic growth for rural Ireland, and that older people in particular prefer to draw their pensions in cash and spend it accordingly.
“Many pensioners I have spoken to across rural Ireland draw down their pension once a week and having that cash in front of them helps them to budget their spending for the week,” she said.
“Card payments are very convenient and should remain a large part of our economy but we cannot replace cash payments completely. This is about giving consumers a choice,” Ní Mhurchú added.
In June 2023, the European Commission brought proposals to the European Parliament to safeguard the role of cash in the EU. These proposals said that cash must be accepted as a means of payment everywhere in the EU.
Those proposals would bring legislative effect to a 2021 judgement from the European Courts of Justice which ruled that cash must be accepted as a means of payment, with limited exceptions.
Ní Mhurchú said she expects that these proposals will make their way through the European Parliament this year.
Cash over card for many consumers
Cash is the “preferred payment method” for many consumers in Ireland, particularly those aged 18-34, according to the results of a new survey from An Post that was released in November.
The survey found that nearly three in 10 adults (28%) use notes or coins at least once a day, with a further one in 10 using it four to six times a week.
Although the ‘tap and go’ approach would appear to be the most popular among young adults, the latest feedback suggests that those aged 18-24 are the biggest users of cash, with 35% claiming that they use cash daily.
In contrast, just 26% of those aged 35-44 use notes or coins on a daily basis, which would indicate that they are more inclined towards digital payment methods.
Only 2% out of the 1,062 adults aged 18 and over, who took part in the online survey, claimed to never use cash.