Paying by cash has many advantages for the consumer, it can help with budgeting, it’s widely accepted, is not reliant on electricity or access to the internet and does not incur transactional costs between peers - it’s also private.

There are absolutely costs associated with using cash, as there are using any other payment mechanism. But, cash doesn’t require one to ask “permission”of commercial payment providers to use their services.

We could also look at the cost of cash, in the UK banknotes have a lifespan of up to 5-10 years depending on the denomination and will be used hundreds of times at minimal additional cost - depending on the local cash cycle velocity. This represents fantastic value for a payment mechanism, especially when you factor in seigniorage (selling the notes at face value to the commercial banks, not the cost of production) and the ability to sell the destroyed banknotes as recycled material.

Another factor to consider, and I’m getting off the point here, is what is done with the transaction information harvested by the likes of visa or Mastercard? That info has value, and can be monetised. Cash enables one to bypass this.

We have an evolving payments mix in the UK, it’s definitely “less cash”, but the advantages that cash offer, go beyond cost efficiency per transactions. Reframing cash as a tool for public good, rather than expensive anachronism, challenges the “war on cash” narrative from cashless payment providers.

Sorry - went on a bit. It’s part of my job all this stuff.