Cash Acceptance
Debate between Ronnie Cowan and Martyn Day(1 year, 7 months ago)
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Ronnie Cowan (Inverclyde) (SNP)
As my hon. Friend mentioned, freedom of choice is imperative. Currently, we need cash and card. We need to make everyone comfortable with the direction of travel. Does he agree that an education programme is required akin to the one we had back in the day when we introduced decimalisation? Given the average age of people in the room, I may have to explain what decimalisation is.
Martyn Day
I am grateful to my hon. Friend. I am perhaps giving my age away, but I came in with decimalisation. I recall the ready reckoners that my elderly relatives had for me to play with as a toy many years ago. An education programme would be helpful. In 20 to 30 years from now we will be in a different place, but here and now there is a real demand for cash, particularly for many vulnerable groups, such as disabled users who need cash and may not even have their own bank accounts.