Push to avoid cash flow problem as cards take over

Many Australians still rely on cash despite the soaring popularity of card and tap-and-go payments. (Alan Porritt/AAP PHOTOS)

Regulations could soon govern the use of cash distribution services to ensure Australians still have access to physical currency.

A report from the Council of Financial Regulators has called for fresh powers for the federal government to ensure cash distribution services remain in place, despite the prevalence of cards for spending.

The report recommended a minimum reporting standard be introduced for services that provide cash to businesses.

The government would be able to set prices when agreements between cash distribution services and service providers can't be reached.

It comes after cash transporter Armaguard was given a $50 million bailout in 2024 by some of the country's largest retailers and banks to stay afloat.

"The decline in the use of cash for payments in Australia has challenged the economics of the cash distribution sector," the report said. 

"Maintaining access to cash is a key priority as part of modernising payments infrastructure in Australia."

Armaguard was bailed out by major retailers in 2024 to ensure its survival. (Con Chronis/AAP PHOTOS)

It was critical for options surrounding cash distribution be examined, Treasurer Jim Chalmers said.

"The Council of Financial Regulators is working to improve our cash distribution system and they're consulting on their options now," he said.

"We recognise that the availability of cash is important and that's what this is all about."

About 1.5 million Australians use cash for four in five of their in-person transactions, the Reserve Bank of Australia has found. 

But as the country turns away from cash to cards and mobile tap-and-go systems, the distribution of the paper dollar is "under pressure". 

Elderly, vulnerable, regional and rural communities are the biggest users of physical money and will be at the forefront of the review of cash distribution.

The report said the paper commodity was a vital "fallback" for communities during natural disasters, outages and in times of uncertainty.

It said keeping the paper dollar circulating from cash register to cash register was not an easy task.

Submissions will be heard by the financial regulator as it prepares to hand down the final paper later in 2025.