‘A fundamental right’: UK high street chains and restaurants challenged over refusal to accept cash
-As more of us reject tapping and swiping, campaigners and politicians say the law should force retailers to accept coins and notes

“一項(xiàng)基本權(quán)利”：英國(guó)商業(yè)街連鎖店和餐館因拒絕接受現(xiàn)金而受到質(zhì)疑
——隨著越來(lái)越多的人拒絕按鍵和刷卡，活動(dòng)人士和政客們表示，這項(xiàng)法律應(yīng)該迫使零售商接受硬幣和紙幣


(A number of businesses are taking card payments only.)

（許多商家只接受信用卡支付。）
新聞：

Major high street chains and restaurants, including Gail’s bakery, Itsu and Zizzi, are being challenged by campaigners over their refusal to accept cash after a jump in consumers turning to notes and coins for daily spending.

由于越來(lái)越多的消費(fèi)者在日常消費(fèi)中使用紙幣和硬幣，包括蓋爾面包店、Itsu和Zizzi在內(nèi)的主要商業(yè)街連鎖店和餐館拒絕接受現(xiàn)金，這受到了活動(dòng)人士的挑戰(zhàn)。

Following a steady decline in cash payments over the last decade, consumer groups says the cost of living crisis has seen more people turning to the traditional payment method for day-to-day spending. In 2023, 1.5 million adults in the UK were using cash for daily spending, a four-year high.

消費(fèi)者團(tuán)體表示，在過(guò)去10年現(xiàn)金支付穩(wěn)步下降之后，生活成本危機(jī)使更多人轉(zhuǎn)向傳統(tǒng)的支付方式進(jìn)行日常支出。2023年，英國(guó)有150萬(wàn)成年人使用現(xiàn)金進(jìn)行日常消費(fèi)，創(chuàng)下四年來(lái)的新高。

Ron Delnevo, chair of the Payment Choice Alliance, which campaigns for the long-term future of cash services, said it was “completely unacceptable” that some stores were rejecting cash. The alliance wants new laws similar to those in some other countries requiring organisations and retailers to accept cash.

支付選擇聯(lián)盟主席羅恩·德?tīng)杻?nèi)沃表示，一些商店拒絕現(xiàn)金支付是“完全不可接受的”。該聯(lián)盟致力于推動(dòng)現(xiàn)金服務(wù)的長(zhǎng)期發(fā)展。該聯(lián)盟希望出臺(tái)類似于其他一些國(guó)家的新法律，要求組織和零售商接受現(xiàn)金。

“The vast majority of the public want cash to be honoured as a payment,” he said. “These businesses are letting down the public.” Delnevo said a survey conducted by YouGov in June 2023 on behalf of the alliance revealed that 71% of British adults would support a legal requirement for businesses to accept cash.

他說(shuō)：“絕大多數(shù)公眾希望以現(xiàn)金支付。這些企業(yè)讓公眾失望了。”德?tīng)杻?nèi)沃表示，輿觀在2023年6月代表該聯(lián)盟進(jìn)行的一項(xiàng)調(diào)查顯示，71%的英國(guó)成年人支持法律要求企業(yè)接受現(xiàn)金。

Gail’s, which has more than 150 stores, says going cashless has “environmental benefits” in eliminating the need for cash collection and delivery. Itsu, which promotes “affordable, nutritious food” rolled out cashless payments after a successful trial, and Zizzi says it only accepts card and contactless payments for the “smoothest and fastest” payment experience.

擁有150多家門店的蓋爾表示，無(wú)現(xiàn)金化有“環(huán)境效益”，因?yàn)樗耸杖『瓦\(yùn)送現(xiàn)金的需要。Itsu是一家推廣“價(jià)格實(shí)惠、營(yíng)養(yǎng)豐富的食品”的公司，在一次成功的試驗(yàn)后，它推出了無(wú)現(xiàn)金支付。Zizzi表示，為了獲得“最順暢、最快”的支付體驗(yàn)，它只接受信用卡和非接觸式支付。

The coffee and bakery chain Pret a Manger has piloted cashless outlets but still accepts cash in most of its 490 shops in the UK. It found the cashless service was faster but decided against a wider roll-out in favour of customer choice.

咖啡和烘焙連鎖店P(guān)ret a Manger已經(jīng)試點(diǎn)了無(wú)現(xiàn)金門店，但在其位于英國(guó)的490家門店中，大多數(shù)仍接受現(xiàn)金。它發(fā)現(xiàn)無(wú)現(xiàn)金服務(wù)更快，但決定不廣泛推廣，支持客戶選擇。
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The Treasury sext committee is expected to report shortly on its inquiry into whether there is any need to regulate or mandate the acceptance of cash. An early day motion tabled in parliament last month calls for the government to implement legislation to require all businesses in the UK to accept cash, but ministers have said they have no plans to mandate the acceptance of cash.

預(yù)計(jì)財(cái)政部特別委員會(huì)將很快就是否有必要監(jiān)管或強(qiáng)制接受現(xiàn)金的問(wèn)題進(jìn)行調(diào)查。英國(guó)議會(huì)上月早些時(shí)候提交的一份動(dòng)議呼吁政府實(shí)施立法，要求英國(guó)所有企業(yè)接受現(xiàn)金，但大臣們表示，他們沒(méi)有強(qiáng)制要求接受現(xiàn)金的計(jì)劃。

The motion highlights concerns at the “rapidly increasing trend for UK businesses, local authorities and leisure facilities, including those supported by taxpayer funding, to refuse to accept cash for payments”. Car parks, train buffets and leisure centres are among the services that have gone cashless.

該動(dòng)議凸顯了對(duì)“英國(guó)企業(yè)、地方當(dāng)局和休閑設(shè)施（包括由納稅人資助的設(shè)施）拒絕接受現(xiàn)金支付的迅速增長(zhǎng)趨勢(shì)”的擔(dān)憂。停車場(chǎng)、火車自助餐廳和休閑中心等服務(wù)都已實(shí)現(xiàn)無(wú)現(xiàn)金化。

Kate Osborne, the Labour MP for Jarrow and Gateshead East, who has signed the early day motion, said: “It is a fundamental right that people should be able to use cash as a legal tender. When you are trying to budget, particularly if you are on a low income, cash is a simple way of doing it. I understand that many people are not using cash much of the time, but there should be choice for all.

賈羅和蓋茨黑德東區(qū)的工黨議員凱特·奧斯本簽署了早前的動(dòng)議，她說(shuō)：“人們應(yīng)該能夠使用現(xiàn)金作為法定貨幣，這是一項(xiàng)基本權(quán)利。當(dāng)你試著做預(yù)算的時(shí)候，特別是如果你的收入很低，用現(xiàn)金是一個(gè)簡(jiǎn)單的方法。我知道很多人不經(jīng)常使用現(xiàn)金，但所有人都應(yīng)該有選擇。
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“We are seeing more and more retailers offering card-only payments, and it causes problems in constituencies like mine where we’ve got a high number of people who are digitally excluded or may choose not to do electronic banking.” Osborne said that cash can be more convenient. “I’ve been on trains before and the system [for the buffet] has gone down and they can’t take cash,” she said. “You could be on a train for three or four hours, and you can’t even buy a cup of tea.”

“我們看到越來(lái)越多的零售商只提供銀行卡支付，這在像我這樣的選區(qū)造成了問(wèn)題，那里有很多人被數(shù)字排斥在外，或者可能選擇不使用電子銀行?！眾W斯本說(shuō)，現(xiàn)金可以更方便?！拔乙郧白^(guò)火車，（自助餐）系統(tǒng)壞了，他們不能收現(xiàn)金，”她說(shuō)?！澳憧赡茉诨疖嚿献巳膫€(gè)小時(shí)，卻連一杯茶都買不到?！?/b>

Use of cash has fallen dramatically in the last decade, from more than half of payments in 2009 to about 12% in 2023. Yet it is still the second most frequently used method of payment in the UK after debit card.

在過(guò)去十年中，現(xiàn)金的使用急劇下降，從2009年的一半以上下降到2023年的12%左右。然而，在英國(guó)，它仍然是僅次于借記卡的第二大常用支付方式。

Cash accounted for 6bn payments in 2023, with the number of people who mainly use cash rising from about 900,000 in 2022 to 1.5m in 2023, according to figures from the trade association UK Finance.

英國(guó)金融行業(yè)協(xié)會(huì)的數(shù)據(jù)顯示，2023年現(xiàn)金支付總額為60億筆，主要使用現(xiàn)金的人數(shù)從2022年的約90萬(wàn)增加到2023年的150萬(wàn)。

Ajay Banga, now president of the World Bank, revealed the roadmap of the finance industry in 2017 when, as chief executive of Mastercard, he stated in an interview: “My enemy is cash.” The international finance industry now faces resistance over its eagerness for cashless transactions.

現(xiàn)任世界銀行行長(zhǎng)的阿賈伊·班加在2017年透露了金融業(yè)的路線圖，當(dāng)時(shí)他作為萬(wàn)事達(dá)卡首席執(zhí)行官在一次采訪中表示：“我的敵人是現(xiàn)金?！眹?guó)際金融業(yè)對(duì)無(wú)現(xiàn)金交易的渴望現(xiàn)在面臨著阻力。
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Sweden has been at the forefront of countries moving towards a cashless society, with the New York Times reporting in 2018 that about 4,000 Swedes had implanted microchips in their hands to pay for travel or food, or enter keyless offices. Mounting cyber crime and the rising threat from Russia have led to a rethink, with residents now advised to keep enough cash at home for at least one week.

瑞典一直走在邁向無(wú)現(xiàn)金社會(huì)的國(guó)家的前列，《紐約時(shí)報(bào)》在2018年報(bào)道稱，約有4000名瑞典人在手中植入微芯片，以支付旅行或食物費(fèi)用，或進(jìn)入無(wú)鑰匙辦公室。不斷增加的網(wǎng)絡(luò)犯罪和來(lái)自俄羅斯的威脅促使人們重新思考，現(xiàn)在建議居民在家里存放至少足夠一周使用的現(xiàn)金。

While cash can help provide resilience in the event of an attack or collapse in the financial system, many consumers also turn to coins and notes for budgeting. A system known as “cash stuffing” – using envelopes for different categories of spending – has racked up hundreds of millions of views on TikTok, but security experts advise against keeping large amounts of cash at home.

雖然現(xiàn)金可以在金融系統(tǒng)遭受攻擊或崩潰時(shí)提供抵御能力，但許多消費(fèi)者也會(huì)使用硬幣和紙幣來(lái)進(jìn)行預(yù)算。一種被稱為“現(xiàn)金填充”的系統(tǒng)——用信封裝不同類別的支出——在抖音上已經(jīng)積累了數(shù)億次的點(diǎn)擊量，但安全專家建議不要在家里存放大量現(xiàn)金。

May Fairweather, a financial coach and executive director at the nonprofit organisation Talk About Money, said the financial industry wanted “frictionless” purchases because it made it easier for people to spend money.

非營(yíng)利組織“談?wù)摻疱X”的財(cái)務(wù)教練兼執(zhí)行董事梅·費(fèi)爾韋瑟表示，金融業(yè)希望“無(wú)摩擦”的購(gòu)買，因?yàn)檫@讓人們更容易花錢。

“Cash adds friction, and that can be a good thing,” she said. “It gives people time to think and time to make proper decisions.” She also said thatnotes and coins remind people trying to budget that money is “finite”.

“現(xiàn)金增加了摩擦，這可能是一件好事，”她說(shuō)。“這讓人們有時(shí)間思考，有時(shí)間做出正確的決定?！彼€表示，紙幣和硬幣提醒人們，錢是“有限的”。

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) says that about 3 million people continue to rely on cash, even as digital payments become more popular. It introduced rules last September requiring banks and building societies to ensure reasonable access to cash withdrawal and deposit services.

英國(guó)金融市場(chǎng)行為監(jiān)管局表示，盡管數(shù)字支付越來(lái)越流行，但仍有大約300萬(wàn)人繼續(xù)依賴現(xiàn)金。去年9月出臺(tái)的規(guī)定要求銀行和建房互助會(huì)確保合理的現(xiàn)金提取和存款服務(wù)。

A Treasury spokesperson said: “We recognise that cash continues to be used by millions across the UK. While we have no plans to mandate cash acceptance, individual businesses can decide which payment methods they accept, and new rules introduced by the FCA support those that do want to continue accepting cash by enabling business to make deposits.”

一位財(cái)政部發(fā)言人表示：“我們認(rèn)識(shí)到，英國(guó)各地仍有數(shù)百萬(wàn)人在使用現(xiàn)金。雖然我們沒(méi)有計(jì)劃強(qiáng)制接受現(xiàn)金，但個(gè)人企業(yè)可以決定他們接受哪種支付方式，金融市場(chǎng)行為監(jiān)管局推出的新規(guī)則支持那些希望通過(guò)允許企業(yè)存款來(lái)繼續(xù)接受現(xiàn)金的企業(yè)。”

Gail’s, Itsu and Zizzi have been contacted for comment.

記者已聯(lián)系了蓋爾、Itsu和Zizzi請(qǐng)其置評(píng)。