Ensuring Equitable Payment Options: A Legal Perspective on Banning ‘No Cash’ Policies in Australia
| Published date | 01 December 2024 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0067205X241305798 |
| Author | Christian Chamorro-Courtland |
| Date | 01 December 2024 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
Federal Law Review
2024, Vol. 52(4) 479–506
© The Author(s) 2024
Article reuse guidelines:
sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/0067205X241305798
journals.sagepub.com/home/flr
Ensuring Equitable Payment
Options: A Legal Perspective on
Banning ‘No Cash’Policies in
Australia
Christian Chamorro-Courtland*
Abstract
This article examines the legal case for banning ‘no cash’policies at retailers in Australia, with a focus
on fostering inclusivity for unbanked individuals and empowering consumers. The analysis explores
three potential options for implementing such a prohibition: leveraging anti-discrimination laws,
utilizing consumer protection laws or enacting new legislation. From a legal standpoint, the article
argues that retailers should be mandated to accept cash when consumers seek to purchase essential
goods and services. Drawing upon relevant legal frameworks, the article highlights the importance
of protecting the rights of unbanked individuals and ensuring consumer choice. It explores the
potential impacts on financial inclusion and consumer empowerment while considering the risks of
financial crime. By delving into these considerations, this article aims to contribute to the ongoing
discourse surrounding ‘no cash’policies, offering insights and recommendations for policymakers
and legal practitioners alike in their pursuit of a fair and inclusive society.
Accepted 16 March 2024
‘‘With these pieces of paper, made as I have described, he [Kublai Khan] causes all payments on his own
account to be made; and he makes them to pass current universally over all his kingdoms and provinces
and territories, and whithersoever his power and sovereignty extends. And nobody, however important
he may think himself, dares to refuse them on pain of death. And indeed everybody takes them readily,
for wheresoever a person may go throughout the Great Kaan’s dominions he shall find these pieces of
* Assistant Professor, College of Law, University of Dubai. Member of the New York State Bar and the Law Society of New
South Wales.
Email: cccourtland@hotmail.com. I am grateful to the anonymous reviewers and editors for enhancing this article’s quality
and to my colleagues and Veronika Boldinova for fruitful discussions about cash.
Previous Positions:
•Assistant Professor (Senior Lecturer), Faculty of Law, Bond University, Australia (2022–2023)
•Lecturer, Business School, University of Sydney, Australia (2018–2022)
•Lecturer, Law School, Deakin University, Australia (2017–2018)
•Assistant Professor, College of Business, Zayed University, UAE (2012–2016)
paper current, and shall be able to transact all sales and purchases of goods by means of them just as well
as if they were coins of pure gold’.
Marco Polo
1
I Introduction
In today’s increasingly digital era, the role of cash as a means of exchange has encountered
significant challenges. While the global landscape embraces a shift towards cashless transactions,
certain jurisdictions have recognized the necessity of safeguarding the rights of cash-dependent
individuals by enacting legislation that mandates retailers to accept cash. These jurisdictions
understand the importance of financial inclusivity and consumer choice, aiming to prevent dis-
crimination against individuals without access to alternative payment methods.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, an alarming trend emerged as more retailers globally, in-
cluding in Australia, implemented ‘no cash’policies. These policies, which restrict or eliminate cash
transactions, pose a significant risk of excluding cash-dependent consumers from access ing es-
sential goods and services. A non-exhaustive list of ‘essential’goods and services encompasses
necessities such as food, clothing, shelter (including related items like furniture and white goods)
and transportation.
This urgent issue highlights the need to protect the rights and inclusivity of cash-dependent
consumers by mandating retailers to accept cash for everyday essential items. This article explores
legal perspectives and viable options for legislation to ban ‘no cash’policies, emphasizing the
impact on consumer rights, financial inclusivity and broader societal implications. By addressing
this issue promptly, we can safeguard the interests of cash-dependent individuals, ensuring ac-
cessibility to essential goods and services for all, regardless of their preferred payment method.
This article examines the legal issues surrounding the prohibition of ‘no cash’policies by
retailers in Australia. It is argued that cash continues to provide societal benefits, despite a
downward trend in the use of cash. It facilitates financial inclusion for vulnerable populations,
ensures transactional privacy and serves as a reliable backup during emergencies or technological
disruptions.
2
Requiring retailers to accept cash should not significantly burden or pose substantial
risks to most Australian retailers, thanks to existing safeguards such as video surveillance systems
and cash management solutions.
It is essential for the Australian government (hereinafter, ‘Commonwealth’) to strike a balance
between consumer protection and addressing retailers’concerns, considering that many retailers
may prefer to operate in a cashless manner. Therefore, the introduction of a cash mandate for
retailers would be subject to specific limitations, such as implementing a cap on the amount of cash
that retailers must accept from consumers (for instance, a limit of $10,000 per transaction).
To address concerns regarding illicit activities, it would be crucial to impose a reporting re-
quirement similar to those stipulated in Australia’s existing anti-money laundering (AML) laws
3
on
1. Marco Polo and Rustichello of Pisa, Second Book, Part I, Chapter XXIV: ‘How the Great Kaan Causeth the Bark of Trees,
Made into Something Like Paper,to Pass for Moneyover All His Country’, in The Book of Ser Marco Polo: The Venetian,
Concerning Kingdoms and Marvels of the East, tr Colonel Sir Henry Yule, (London: John Murray, 1903) vol 1.
2. For example, on June 1, 2018, the Visa network experienced a significant outage that disrupted card transactions across
various parts of the world. 5.2 million payments across Europe failed during the 10-hour outage: Finextra, ‘VisaSays 5.2m
Payments Failed during 10 Hour Outage’,Finextra (online, 19 June 2018) <https://www.finextra.com/newsarticle/32277/
visa-says-52m-payments-failed-during-10-hour-outage>.
3. Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (Cth) (‘AML/CTFAct’).
480 Federal Law Review 52(4)
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