Campaigners argue that the disruption caused by last week's global IT outage highlights the dangers of transitioning to a cashless society.

On Friday, a failure in Microsoft systems affected supermarkets, banks, pubs, cafes, train stations, and airports, preventing many from processing electronic payments. The problem was particularly severe for businesses that have stopped accepting cash.

The Payment Choice Alliance (PCA), which advocates against a cashless society, has identified 23 companies and organizations, some of which exclusively accept credit or debit cards.

“There will always be outages,” said Ron Delnevo, the PCA’s chair, as quoted by The Guardian.

“But if there is no alternative, then the whole thing can collapse around you,” he stressed.

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According to UK Finance, which represents banks, cash payments increased for the first time in a decade last year. The number of people who never use cash or use it less than once a month fell from 23.1 million in 2021 to 21.6 million last year.

UK Finance maintained that cash still has a significant role.

On its part, the GMB Union stated that the recent outage underscored its long-standing argument 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,” it emphasized.

Several smaller, unrelated outages have 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. 

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