Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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233. To ask the Minister for Finance further to Parliamentary Question No. 188 of 1 December 2022, if a retail business displaying a sign stating that cash is not accepted or "card payments only" constitutes "a business specifying payment must be in a form other than cash", and therefore allows a shop to refuse payments in cash; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11097/23]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The consumer’s right to use cash as a means of payment is based in contract law in Ireland. In this context, where a business places no restrictions on the means of payment it is prepared to accept, it must accept cash as legal tender when offered by a customer to settle a debt that has arisen.

If a business specifies payment must be in a form other than cash, the customer cannot subsequently claim a legal right to pay in cash. This can be achieved by, for example, placing a sign stating, “cash not accepted” or “card payment only” at the store entrance or check out area.

The Deputy should also be aware that one of the recommendations of the Retail Banking Review was that the Department of Finance should lead on the preparation of a new National Payments Strategy to be completed in 2024.

The National Payments Strategy will set out a roadmap for the future evolution of the entire payments system, taking account of developments in digital payments, the use of cheques and other issues, and guide how future changes should be made to the legislative Access to Cash criteria. The Strategy should be informed by, and aligned with, the retail payment strategies of both the EU Commission and the Eurosystem. The Strategy should also consider and consult on whether:

- To legislate pre-emptively to give the Minister for Finance the power to require certain classes of firms, sectors or sub-sectors to accept or facilitate (to an appropriate level) the acceptance of cash; and;

- If it should be Government policy that public bodies should accept or facilitate the acceptance of cash for the payment of goods, services, taxes, levies, fees or charges.