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Gov't regulators should question motives of those who seek to eradicate cash

A newly published position paper by ATMIA highlights the value of cash as a 'publicly minted trust.'

July 28, 2014

The ATM Industry Association has announced the publication of a new position paper about the role of cash as public money.

"Cash today still represents 85 percent of global retail payment transactions," said Mike Lee, CEO of ATMIA, "but its role as public money is key to the underlying trust the world continues to show in cash."

Lee said cash should receive special recognition in society as the people's public money, produced and governed by publicly accountable central banks.

"Regulators should take into account the vested commercial interests of stakeholders in payments running expensive and aggressive campaigns to eradicate cash," he said.

The position paper quotes the recent landmark study by the British Museum on the history of money. The study concluded that cash is still the most important kind of money in the world.

"Not only is the longevity and popularity of cash a testimony to the simple brilliance of this technology, but it's publicly minted trust, too," Lee said.

The complete position paper is available for review by both members and nonmembers at the ATMIA website.

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ATM Industry Association (ATMIA)

The ATM Industry Association, founded in 1997, is a global non-profit trade association with over 10,500 members in 65 countries. The membership base covers the full range of this worldwide industry comprising over 2.2 million installed ATMs.

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