I mean, since the last time I’ve visited: it seems like no one ever carries it. I prefer it because CC charge additional fees (which end up making the item cost more) I have a small rant about that: STOP RIPPING OFF PEOPLE WITH THOSE SURCHARGES?! (It should be 0 rather than 1%) as it may seem trivial, they add up overtime. Are stores allowed to refuse cash payments outright despite them being legal tender?
I use cash very often; almost always at cafes and restaurants, and often in other places too.
I have several reasons for using cash:
- Avoid surcharges.
- Avoid entrenching dependency on payment-processing companies.
- Avoid easy tracking by banks and payment processors.
- Maintaining a sense of deliberate decision-making with purchases. (Using cash means I physically and necessarily think about how much money I’m handing over, whereas with a phone or card it takes no thought at all.)
- (and other reasons along similar lines and values as those I’ve listed.)
Really, I think it would be a disaster if cash was no longer widely accepted. Having all transactions funneled through a handful of private companies, with no way of avoiding them, … that would be very bad for a heap of different reasons. So continuing to use cash simply so that cash continues to be an option is good enough reason on its own.
Cash’s days are numbered. The main advantage of cash is tax avoidance and an underground economy, which is not sustainable.
I haven’t used cash for at least 5 years.
I don’t even take my wallet much anymore. My phone is all I need. If someone doesn’t have tap to pay facilities, I just don’t buy their good or service.
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I mean so was everything that predated a new technology. We should all etch shit in stone by this logic.
I have competition, price and privacy concerns too but still this argument is ridiculous in the face of lived experience.
Shit fails and you need alternatives when in a bind. It’s not even close to being a ridiculous comment.
Absolutely, having a few bucks as a fall back is a great idea.
Mate, if the electricity goes down, no one is buying anything.
Have I got good news for you. On 1 oct, those surcharges become illegal again.
I always carry cash. Many small independent businesses prefer it as then they don’t have to pay fees
and I keep cash on me to give to street people
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Guilty. I never use cash. I rarely even carry my wallet these days. Everything is on/via my phone. All my ID, all my payments. Now that Transperth can do phones for tagging on/off public transport, there is literally nothing in my wallet that my phone can’t also do.
Phone is simply more convenient. I’ve been basically cashless for about a decade, now.
I get cash when I know I’m going to be out at a place that has a discount for cash, otherwise tend not to use it for convenience. Since becoming full-time disabled convenience has been an increasing priority as I don’t have capacity to do much out. Getting cash can mean needing a support worker take me to a bank too, and as NDIS is getting cut I probably will be doing without that discount to save worker time for more important things, and just using a card to save time.
There are fee-less credit cards available for students and pensioners. I have the pensioner one and only have to pay any credit card fees when making an international purchase (usually games or other downloaded/online content). There are also other arrangements where you can use a debit card without fees or credit cards that exempt you from fees every month if you have enough “points” or whatever.
You should know that the term “legal tender” does not mean “businesses must accept cash payment” - this is from the RBA:
However although transactions are to be in Australian currency unless otherwise agreed or specified, and Australian currency has legal tender status, Australian banknotes and coins do not necessarily have to be used in transactions and refusal to accept payment in legal tender banknotes and coins is not unlawful.
If a provider of goods or services specifies other means of payment prior to the contract, then there is usually no obligation for legal tender to be accepted as payment.
I carry it, and apart from a couple of specific, non-essential places, I’ve never been denied when using it. Businesses are often happy to have it.
One place I visit only accepts cash and has an ATM inside their store. Another (cafe) is like 5% off for cash (not much given the scale but adds up) so I bring exact change.
One of my local Vietnamese takeaway joints offers 10% discount for cash… So I carry cash now 😜
The surcharges suck, and in another month they won’t be allowed, but it’s not as though everything is going to be cheaper in the long run.
What we want is for the list price to be the final price, instead of this plus this plus that nonsense.
Yes, by carrying cash things might be 1% cheaper, but most people are happy to pay an extra 1% for the convenience of not carrying cash.
That said, as a card-only person for decades, I think I’m old and grumpy enough to start carrying cash again just because I don’t like my bank being all up in my stuff.
Unfortunately the new legislation only stops unforwarding the charge directly, there is nothing to stop the banks and card companies charging the vendor. Prices will likely go up across the board and if you pay cash, you’ll technically be paying part of everyone’s card surcharge.
I suspect that any attempts to discount for cash will be quashed, if it’s not already buried in there.
Banks have always charged the vendor.
Yes, I realise this, my point was that the cost doesn’t disappear, it’s just hidden
Cash has a cost. It needs to be physically handled, counted, stored securely, moved in armed transport, and cash in all businesses is lost to theft every hour.
Small business insists on cash not to avoid bank fees, but to avoid taxes. My barber’s lifestyle does not match his income on paper.
Exactly, I’m not sure how people can’t fathom how expensive it used to be to run everything on cash.
The free cash cost of the past had factored into it, the 30 minutes of wage needed to clear the tills and check the balances, the bank fee that they get to process 5kg of shrapnel, armoured guards to move large sums of cash around, specialised training, firearms and custom vehicles. Cash was an industry, of which a small amount remains.
Now the extra cents they slap on your card payment at the tap, that has always been bulshit. The price on the sticker being the amount you pay is a core tenant of this country, and I’m glad they are cracking down on it.
I’m also strongly in favour of keeping the cash option there. Many many good reasons to have it around.
You seem to be laboring under the misconception that people don’t want to pay for things by card.
Card payments are more convenient than cash.
They rely on a network, which costs money. Yes, the fees exceed the cost, which allows the network provider to make a profit. However, if the profit was excessive there would be alternatives, and most Australian’s will be invested in that payment network through their super anyway.
In summary, consumers are enjoying convenience in exchange for a fee. You personally might find the fee unreasonable but you’re the minority.
You seem fixated on the idea that when paying with cash you will be burdened with the card fee even though you’re not availing yourself of that service. I’m a self employed consultant. The vast majority of customers pay electronically, by bank transfer. A few times a year someone wants to pay with cash, so I have to make a special trip to the ATM to deposit it just for them. Handling cash has a non-trivial cost.
I suspect that any attempts to discount for cash will be quashed, if it’s not already buried in there.
The no-surcharge rule in itself won’t prevent discounts for cash:
Can businesses offer discounts on other payment methods?
Yes. Businesses can continue to offer discounts for particular payment methods. Businesses should consult their payment service provider and the ACCC guidance on appropriate pricing displays.
Removing the RBA’s prohibition on ‘no-surcharge’ rules is not intended to prevent discounts being offered to consumers for using certain payment methods.
Business incentives to use cash is not about service fees, it’s about running a business with two books and tax evasion.
Okay, though if this created a resurgence in the cash economy, I think the government would amend the legislation. A lot of companies might not want to deal with the cost/ risk of handling more cash.
Mostly I expect that the highest card surcharge will become the new price and if there is a cash price, it will just be the current price at best. It really looks like it will just mean higher prices for all consumers and less versatility - the biggest rent payment platform owned by Macquarie bank has already stated they just won’t accept cards any more.
Yes, by carrying cash things might be 1% cheaper, but most people are happy to pay an extra 1% for the convenience of not carrying cash.
Many stores agree. In the U.S., there’s a debate about whether cities should require private businesses to accept cash, and the only reason why it’s a debate is because some stores are going cashless already. It saves them the labor of counting cash and depositing it at a bank, and it reduces the risk of mistakes, lost/misplaced money, theft/robbery, etc.
The metadata of being able to associate a transaction with an individual is much more valuable.
A business dealing with Cash is a legal liability because a transaction cannot be associated with an individual, especially if it technology.
Burner phones aren’t a thing in Australia. A lot of car dealers refuse to take cash payments due to laundering; it is legally safer for them to illegally reject cash than for them to get embroiled in more serious illegal activity.
Counterfeiting is also a concern as technology enables higher quality fake currency.
Are stores allowed to refuse cash payments outright despite them being legal tender?
Yes. Only supermarkets and petrol stations are required by law to accept cash, and only for transactions $500 or less between 7 AM and 9 PM.
https://www.accc.gov.au/business/selling-products-and-services/payment-methods#toc-cash
Also, many people have misconceptions about what “legal tender” means. “Legal tender” does not mean “businesses must accept cash payment”:
However although transactions are to be in Australian currency unless otherwise agreed or specified, and Australian currency has legal tender status, Australian banknotes and coins do not necessarily have to be used in transactions and refusal to accept payment in legal tender banknotes and coins is not unlawful.
If a provider of goods or services specifies other means of payment prior to the contract, then there is usually no obligation for legal tender to be accepted as payment.
I take the time to get cash out once a week and use it at smaller places. You can save anywhere between 1-10% paying cash at the right places
When I visited as a tourist, why do ATMs only disperse $50 bills upon withdrawing large sums (i.e. $500) when Australia clearly has a $100 bill? Why does it exist when barely anyone uses it for regular transactions?
In Canada, we have $100 bills, but most shops will not accept them due to counterfeit.
Because it’s not only you making a withdrawal, and banks have thousands of ATMs and over 40 years of data to work out what to stack their ATMs with
ATMs are stocked according to likelihood of withdrawl. More people pull out fiddies than hundreds of dollars
For some reason ATMs here only do $20s and $50s. You’d have to go into the bank or a supermarket to get $100 notes.
Places would prefer $20s anyway. So I get out an amount that means I’ll get a couple like $180 so it’s a good mix
And also, I’ve had to wait for a teller just to divide into smaller notes for exact change, much quicker and more respectful, especially in businesses which aren’t retail
Some do $100s.
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By that logic why should any cash be printed when barely anyone uses it for regular transactions
Good news! Surcharges are ending in October
No, you mean everything below $10 increases in price by 10%,and everything above $10 goes up by 2-10%.
It’s a free price bump to every retailer.
Hello, October inflation! The RBA meetings in November and December will be fascinating!
That doesn’t sound like it’s good news. That’s the way we do it in Canada and it just means that people paying cash are subsidizing the people using cards. Now everyone needs to use cards so you don’t miss out on “points” and costs go up even more.
People paying by card have subsidised cash payments for years.
It’s good news for OP who is railing against surcharges.
Having and using a debit card is functionally mandatory in Australia, so I don’t see anything better short of the government legislating GNU Taler acceptance.
Ya, but it’s just a hidden surcharge (per my understanding). That sounds worse.
Edit: not disagreeing. I think publicly owned payment systems that don’t charge more than operating costs are absolutely necessary (in Canada too).
Good article here on trends that answers some of your questions: https://theconversation.com/why-cash-has-made-an-unexpected-comeback-in-australia-new-study-281029
After two decades of declining cash use, Australians are handing over more banknotes and coins for regular purchases again, a new survey by the Reserve Bank has found.
The decline in the use of physical money had accelerated during the COVID pandemic, but bottomed out between 2022 and 2025.
One decision that may stabilise the use of cash is that since January 2026 the federal government has mandated that most grocery stores and petrol stations must continue to accept cash.
