(9 March 2026 – Australasia) The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) have reinforced support for cash to remain a feature in the economy as universal cash mandates are enacted.
Bank notes and coins are viewed by the RBA as “vital” for regional and remote communities while the RBNZ Bank issued a consultation paper proposing enforcing a cash service standard on New Zealand banks whereby they must provide cash services across the country for free at an estimated annual cost to the banks of NZ$104 million.
Access to cash remains vital for many Australians, particularly in regional and remote communities. RBA Payments System Board members acknowledged the importance of the long-term sustainability of the cash distribution system and expressed support for the proposed regulatory framework for providers of cash distribution services.
Consumer payments made in cash have fallen from 70 percent in 2007 to just 13 per cent in 2022.
“As physical currency disappears from our wallets, how to save the struggling system for moving cash around Australia has sparked a fiery debate. On January 1, the federal government mandated the acceptance of cash for essential products and services, including medicine, groceries, fuel and bills. Many Australians think cash is always legal tender – but they are wrong. An increasing number of businesses simply don’t accept cash, which they are entitled to do. You can’t use cash on a train, ferry or tram. Over the past two decades, the use of cash has declined by more than 80 per cent” Andrew Connell writes for the AFR Magazine Innovation Issue.
“According to the most recent RBA consumer payments survey, cash is still the major form of payment for around 1.5 million Australians, concentrated in regional and remote Australia and older age brackets. Moreover, it is vital in emergency situations when electronic payments fail, notably during natural disasters.”
“We welcomed the RBA’s position. Australians have the right to avoid credit card surcharges by using legal tender. The RBA should take over the distribution of cash and run it as a public service. They could also assist in the creation of jointly owned distribution organisation by involving the major banks as operators of this service” said Swinburne Finance Expert Professor Steve Worthington.
The RBNZ argues providing cash services to customers is part of a bank’s “social licence” to operate in NZ.
“Providing cash services is an essential element of the relationship banks have with their customers because people expect to be able to convert easily, quickly and without cost, digital money, i.e. their positive balances in their bank transaction accounts, into cash and vice versa. This exchange is known as ‘convertibility’. ‘Convertibility’ is a long-established convention in banking, and in many ways the foundation of what it means to be a bank” the RBNZ states.