Don’t make crisis an excuse

‘I THINK your Keep Our Cash campaign has probably bitten the dust.’ That was the response from one reader last week after the banks agreed to push up the limit on contactless transactions from £30 to £45 – and cash usage plummeted in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

An understandable comment? Of course. But I don’t agree with it. The banks simply cannot be allowed to use coronavirus as an excuse to deprive us of our right to access cash – whether it’s through free-to-use cash machines, cashback facilities at supermarkets or via high street banks and building societies.

Although most of us are comfortable waving our plastic in front of card readers, not everyone is. My mum, for example, remains wedded to cheques and cash, while my partner’s mother refuses to use plastic. She goes to her bank every so often and withdraws sufficient cash to keep her going for a while.

They shouldn’t be abandoned. When we emerge from this pandemic, it is essential a countrywide cash network remains in place. Cash may not be king any more, but it’s a vital cog in the wheel that drives our economy.