Small, but vocal, Facebook groups are calling for Aussies to boycott cashless businesses

A small but vocal group of Australians are using social media to name and shame businesses that do not accept cash, despite contactless card transactions becoming the de facto form of payment for enterprises across the country.

On Monday, the ABC reported the three week-old Facebook group ‘Call Out Cashless Businesses’ had attracted around 9,000 followers interested in boycotting businesses which refuse banknotes and coins.

The group has swelled to nearly 13,000 members since the ABC’s report, drawing further attention to major retailers and local businesses which have ditched the traditional cash register for card payment systems.

Why are people upset?

There is no legal requirement for businesses to accept cash as payment, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission notes.

Cash acceptance among Australian businesses remains very high overall but has fallen in recent years.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) states 94% of businesses with a physical presence accepted cash payments in June 2022, down from 99% in February 2020.

The strong uptake of debit cards, the proliferation of mobile wallets, and a move away from cash transactions through the COVID-19 pandemic have all contributed to the decline.

A quarter of people who reported lower cash use through the pandemic said the change was likely to be permanent, the RBA noted.

Beyond the convenience to customers, tap-to-pay transactions may be more efficient for businesses to process, especially in fast-moving environments like hospitality and drive-through operations.

They can eliminate the need to deposit large sums of cash at the bank in person.

Digital transaction histories can also speed up accounting and tax requirements, instead of manually tallying each day’s cash takings.

By and large, businesses and customers appreciate the speed, traceability, and effectiveness of card payments.

But as the RBA notes, “a significant minority of face-to-face payments are still made in cash and some members of the community prefer to use cash for their everyday payments”.

Older Australians, in particular, are more fond of cash payments than their younger counterparts, the central bank’s research suggests.

Cash usage is still a major issue in regional Australia, as evidenced by the Senate committee inquiry into regional bank branch closures.

Other shoppers simply resent the bank fees and charges associated with some types of card payments.

But on social media, a main driver of the cashless business boycott movement appears to be a belief that reducing cash transactions means reducing consumer freedoms.

What is happening online?

In the ‘Call Out Cashless Businesses’ Facebook group, some users bristle against card transactions over fears banks and card providers can peer into their spending habits.

A small number of users reference the unfounded notion that Australia will eventually move towards a fully digital identity system that limits how people can spend their money — with the elimination of cash payments a first step in the process.

While those baseless fears are yet to come to fruition, the overall conflation of cash and ‘freedom’ has already received some parliamentary support.

In 2020, the Senate knocked back a Coalition-led bill that would have outlawed cash transactions over $10,000.

When it was first brought forward, former Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar said the limit would help law enforcement agencies crack down on untraceable money laundering schemes.

But opponents, most notably Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, led the Senate to ditch debate over those measures.

“Australians now retain their right and freedom to use cash with the bill now officially dead,” Senator Malcolm Roberts said.

Should small businesses be worried?

For now, Facebook groups listing businesses that refuse cash transactions contain a small fragment of potential customers.

Many commenters say they ultimately paid by card, even if it went against their belief that cash is king.

Prevailing trends suggest card transactions, mobile wallet payments, and other digital solutions are likely to become even more popular among customers.

At this stage, the risks of an overarching consumer boycott against firms that choose not to accept cash appear to be low.

As refusing cash remains a totally legal response, it is up to small businesses to decide what works best for them and their customers.