In the third instalment of the cashless Belfast series, a spokesman from Campaign for Cash has spoken out about the “spreading disease” of cashless payments
A pro-cash campaigner has spoken to Belfast Live about his experiences — as well as his expectations — of a society moving towards a cashless future.
He warns Belfast residents to look towards other parts of the country that are a lot further along the digital path than Northern Ireland to see what is happening there. And he stresses the importance of holding onto cash as a viable payment option.
Martin Quinn, 52, from Sutton in South London is involved with the Campaign for Cash. The organisation is a grassroots group who campaigns for continued and expanded cash across the country.
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He spoke to us highlighting the current landscape in the capital when it comes to cash, and said he wants physical money to remain a part of our spending habits.
Campaign for Cash spokesman Martin said: “It is almost impossible to spend your cash in some parts of the capital.
“In London, many of the chains are card only and people need to speak up or they will not have the option to spend their cash. It is like a disease, cashless payments are spreading.
“My long term worry is that any particular high street in the country, you won’t be able to spend your cash. We’ve lost thousands of bank branches in the last decade so I can see why businesses are going card only but this is detrimental in so many ways, it hits everybody else. A wide array of society want to use cash and it should not be taken off the table.”
Martin said the Campaign for Cash wanted people to be proud of the cash in their pocket and to be able to use it freely. The organisation has been around for several years now and arose in response to the rapid decline in cash usage accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the increasing number of businesses going cashless.
He continued: “If there is a power outage or systems go down, and we don’t have the ability to spend cash, we’ll be walking around like zombies. People need to realise that they have a right to cash and they need to demand to have the ability to be able to spend it.
“Cash is especially popular in working class areas and with self service checkouts taking over in supermarkets, it is rare that cash is accepted at terminals. People don’t just want to spend cash, they need to be able to spend cash.
“We are sleep walking into a cashless society and people need to understand the implications of not having cash. There are concerns around privacy and not having the freedom of making a decision on the way you want to spend your money is not beneficial.”
Throughout the cashless Belfast series run by Belfast Live, many readers have expressed their concerns about the practice of denying cash on our comment sections. Quite a few have publicly stated that they will avoid businesses that don’t accept notes or coins, and Martin encourages this practice.
“If you want to spend your cash, I’d advise boycotting businesses that refuse cash and vote with your feet. If enough people deny businesses access to their wallets then decisions will be changed,” he said.
“Cash needs to be on a level playing field with card payments, it shouldn’t be either, or, we need to have both across the board. Why should a cash user be discriminated against? Both of these payments need to be accepted for resilience. Cash needs to be there as a continuous fail safe, it is part of the eco-system.
“Why is it only in emergency situations that these businesses who have gone cashless want cash? They seem to be happy to take it when this happens.”
While cash use has declined significantly in certain parts of the country, Northern Ireland remains more cash‑reliant than many other regions.
According to Link, Northern Ireland was the most cash heavy part of the UK in 2024. During that year, banking customers in Northern Ireland withdrew an average of £2,274. The second and third cash heaviest regions in the same period were Yorkshire and the Humber (£1,696) and the North-East (£1,682).
A significant portion of UK adults now live largely cashless lives, relying on contactless cards and mobile payments for everyday purchases. But as digital payments become the default for many, questions are being raised about accessibility, consumer choice and whether some people risk being left behind as cash continues to disappear from the high street.
The ongoing closure of bank branches on high streets is also playing a role in a move away from cash. With fewer physical banks available, both customers and businesses are increasingly reliant on digital payment systems. For some businesses, security concerns are another factor, as holding large amounts of cash on-site can pose risks — something contactless payments help to reduce.
Belfast Live will continue exploring this issue in more detail as we seek answers from businesses, campaigners and others to determine whether the move towards cashless payments across the board is inevitable.
What do you think about the decline of cash in Belfast? Are you a business or a consumer that wants to add to the series? Email Rob.Currell@reachplc.com
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