<!–
<!–
<!– <!–
<!–
<!–
<!–
A pro-cash campaigner has outlined four reasons why he believes the country will be worse off in a cashless society, as Australians protest the change by making ATM withdrawals.
Jason Bryce, who founded Cash Welcome, said he was 100 percent behind ‘Take Some Cash Day’ held on Tuesday as part of a popular social media initiative to send a message to banks that the money in Cash remains important to Australians.
“Tuesday is cash out day… use it or lose it… It’s like a vote, almost like we’re voting to keep the cash,” Bryce told Sunrise.
One person promoting the day on social media said: “If everyone did this we would bring thousands of dollars into the community and banks would be running around to refill ATMs.”
‘We want this to reach the entire country. Tell your friends. Never let cash disappear.
Cash advocate Jason Bryce said privacy, reliability, budgeting and fewer fees were good reasons to ensure physical cash stays in circulation.
One of the posts promoting Cash Giveaway Day to protest the move away from cash.
In recent years, cash usage in Australia has shifted towards tap-and-go, cards and electronic transfers rather than physical cash, largely due to its convenience.
Bryce outlined four general reasons why he believes it’s necessary to conserve cash: budget, reliability, privacy and lower fees.
“Sometimes I don’t want all my information out there on the world wide web, in the hands of, well, who knows,” Bryce said, referring to electronic payment records.
It also said electronic payment platforms were susceptible to attacks and disruptions.
“I got caught in an Optus outage last year, I think everyone got caught in an eftpos outage,” he said.
He pointed to the fact that using cash also tends to make people more conscious of how much they spend.
“When I have cash, I have control of my budget and my information,” he said.
“It’s very easy to grab, tap and take your money.”
In recent years, cash usage in Australia has shifted towards tap-and-go, cards and electronic transfers rather than physical cash, largely due to convenience
Lastly, he said the fees associated with electronic payments often go unnoticed.
‘I paid a bill last week, I have it here, it was $300 and they charged a $4.52 surcharge on my card.
“I really don’t think it costs anyone $4.52 to blow the whistle.”
Cash payments in Australia have fallen to around 13 per cent of all transactions, according to official figures.
But Bryce argued that the number of ATM withdrawals had actually increased since last year even though the number of ATMs was shrinking.
Bryce said he would like to see banks step up and commit to holding cash as a “reliable backup.”
“There are a lot of people who rely on cash every day, but we all need cash from time to time,” he said.