Global IT outage shows dangers of cashless society, campaigners say

Campaigners say the chaos caused by the global IT outage last week underlines the risk of moving towards a cashless society.

Supermarkets, banks, pubs, cafes, train stations and airports were all hit by the failure of Microsoft systems on Friday, leaving many unable to accept electronic payments. The impact was especially severe for businesses that no longer accept cash.

The Payment Choice Alliance (PCA), which campaigns against the move towards a cashless society, lists 23 firms and groups, at least some of whose outlets take only credit or debit cards.

“There will always be outages,” said Ron Delnevo, the PCA’s chair. “But if there is no alternative, then the whole thing can collapse around you.”

Cash payments increased for the first time in a decade last year, according to UK Finance, which represents banks. The number of people who never use cash, or use it less than once a month, reached 23.1m in 2021, but declined to 21.6m last year.

UK Finance said there was “definitely still a place” for cash. “It’s up to individual businesses, but we think it’s good to give people a choice. Most businesses still do offer cash.”

The GMB Union said the outage reinforced what it had been saying for years: that “cash is a vital part of how our communities operate”. “When you take cash out of the system, people have nothing to fall back on, impacting on how they do the everyday basics.”

Several smaller, unrelated outages had already affected retailers this year. In March, McDonald’s, Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Gregg’s suffered problems with their payment systems. All of the outlets also accept cash.

Authorities in China and the US have fined businesses for not accepting cash. Delnevo said the UK should have a law requiring all businesses to take cash.

Martin Quinn, campaign director for the PCA, said using cash allowed for anonymity. “I don’t want my data sold on, and I don’t want banks, credit card companies and even online retailers to know every facet of my life,” he said. Budgeting by using cash is also easier for some, he added.

“If I go out for a night and decide to spend £50, then I might wake up with a bit of shrapnel in my pockets. But if I’m in the pub and I’m just going tap, tap, tap, then the next morning I’ll wake up and find I’ve gone into my overdraft.”

Link said that, overall, its cash machines were at normal levels, but busier around supermarkets.