Hi cash supporters,
Thanks for signing the petition and standing up for our right to choose how we pay. We are not against cards, phone payments or tap and go, we are just asking for our legal tender, Australian notes and coins, to be accepted and available if we choose.
Other nations, like Sweden, New Zealand, the EU and some states in the USA, are protecting their cash economy, and Australia should do the same. The alternative could be a system like China - where payments are linked to social credit systems and citizens are being profiled according to their spending.
Six million Australians rely on cash (according to the RBA) and we all may need cash one day, possibly when we least expect it.
You don't need to worry about spreading coronavirus with cash and the cash industry has moved to dispel unfounded fears by:
- Installing UV lights in cash vaults
- Spraying ATM cash canisters with disinfectant
- Quarantining notes for 54 hours before placing into ATMs
- Upgrading staff hygiene
Our big problem is the fake news that is spread by financial institutions and other vested interests predicting a cashless Australia. These "cashless society" stories are so easy to write and sensational news sells, often by invoking fear in readers. Here are some recent examples:
- Australia to be completely cashless within a decade
- RBA Survey: 56% predict cashless Australia
- Australia to be effectively cashless by 2024
These stories encourage people to feel resigned to a bleak cashless future. That won't happen unless we let it happen thatThe truth is there is now more cash on issue than ever before - $99 billion of Australian notes are currently circulating in the community - and this is trending up. Australians don't want to give up cash even if the number of cash transactions declines. Cash is the only payment system that's reliable when bank or payment systems go down or weather interferes with power or internet connections.
Cash is great for budgeting and perhaps they want us to keep spending without thinking too much about it?
Please use this easy link to share our petition so our voice can be heard in Canberra:
https://www.change.org/SayNOtoCashlessSociety
We need hundreds of thousands or millions of supporters so we can't be ignored.
Thanks again for standing up for our rights,
Jason
*The pic is from a USA study comparing germ scores of notes, cards and other objects.