Government breaks silence over new supermarket and coffee shop payment rules

Shops and service firms will not be compelled to accept cash, a Labour Party government minister has said.
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The government has broken its silence over new shop and supermarket rules - but said that retailers will not be forced to follow them. Shops and service firms will not be compelled to accept cash, a Labour Party government minister has said.

Emma Reynolds, the new economic secretary to the Treasury, was pressed on coffee shops, trains and leisure centres excluding people by no longer accepting cash. Ms Reynolds effectively ruled out such a move in the UK.

"We have no plans to regulate businesses - big or small - to compel them to accept cash," she said. She said the UK was "not anywhere near" being a cashless society, with convenience stores planning to accept notes and coins for years.

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Ms Reynolds' evidence was the final session, but earlier they heard from disadvantaged people who still rely on paying with cash. artin Quinn, the director of the Campaign for Cash, describing the move as "a slap in the face for cash." He said: "Millions of cash users are being ignored, and if you want to use cash, this Government is basically saying you are a second-class citizen.

"All of this plays into the US credit card companies and payment giants who are making millions of pounds of profit at the expense of individuals who want to use cash and shops and businesses who are at the mercy of ever-increasing card fees."

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Speaking to the BBC after giving evidence at the sessoin, 84-year-old Constantine Louis said he wanted choice over the way he pays. He said: "For older people, when they use cash, they feel as though they are in control," said the 84-year-old, who lives in a one-bedroom flat.

"Young people will get older one day and may have the same problems we have - they may start forgetting their Pin numbers. For those who get on the bus and pay with their mobile - that's fine with me. But I can't do it. I don't know how to do it."