Meanwhile, the consumers grumbling about this shift are no small fringe group. A survey from CHOICE – the consumer advocacy organisation – found a staggering 97 per cent of respondents believe businesses supplying essential goods and services should be required to accept cash.
Yes, there is some movement at the political level: the federal government has proposed that, starting January 2026, some “essential” businesses (supermarkets, fuel, pharmacies, utilities, and health services) should be forced to accept cash – although many smaller businesses would be exempt from the requirement.
That may address grocery stores and fuel pumps – but what about golf clubs, cafés, or the corner store that gives you nothing but a blank stare when you dangle a $20 note?
It seems to me the only people still fighting for cash are the battlers – the tradies who knock 10 per cent off the bill if you pay in cash, because “it keeps the taxman off the trail.” Inevitably, the tax office came down on them. And now, thanks to our increasingly card-dependent society, the rest of us are paying.
Because every time we pay with plastic:
The business pays a merchant fee.
Or we pay – via surcharges, or subtly higher prices baked in.
Or perhaps a bit of both.
The invisible extra cost, spread across every buy, is quietly creeping up.
We don’t need to wind the clock back to the 1950s. But surely, we should still be able to use real money when we want. Especially when it’s the club bar on a sweltering Saturday and all you need is a cold bottle of water after 14 holes.
