Almost two thirds believe banks will have no cash services

Of the 1,000 respondents surveyed, 56% believe that the responsibility to retain cash services should be in the hands of the Government and the Central Bank while 30% believe that it is up to banks to ensure that local communities retain such services. File picture

Nearly two thirds of people believe that banks will remove cash services completely in time, according to a new survey.

The poll, commissioned by Credit Union Development Association (CUDA), found that just 6% of respondents believe banks will retain cash services “indefinitely” while 60% believe that they will remove the services in time.

Kevin Johnson, CEO of CUDA said many people feel as though they are on “borrowed time” in terms of the withdrawal of face-to-face banking services.

“It is very much a sign of the times we are in and the shift to digital banking that one of the fundamental purposes of the banking system as we know – the circulation of cash – is under threat of becoming redundant,” Mr Johnson said.

He acknowledged that there are many sides to the issue with some arguing that digital is the way forward and a cashless society is the next logical step.

“Others will maintain that a solely digital-based banking system would only serve a certain sector of society, would skip a large swathe of people who don’t have the requisite skillset to adopt it, and leave the economy over-exposed to a major cyber-attack,” he said.

While acknowledging a recent Eurostat study which found that 250,000 people in Ireland over the age of 65 do not use the internet, Mr Johnson said: “The prospect of national banking service providers orientating their business development in such a way as to potentially disempower over a quarter of a million people requires serious consideration at Government level, and requires policy-making that mitigates such negative societal impacts and detriment, particularly for older consumers.” 

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Of the 1,000 respondents surveyed, 56% believe that the responsibility to retain cash services should be in the hands of the Government and the Central Bank while 30% believe that it is up to banks to ensure that local communities retain such services.

Mr Johnson said the numbers are “even more extreme” amongst KBC and Ulster bank customers with 17% believing it is up to the banks and 72% saying that it’s up to the Government and the Central bank to resolve the issue.

“The retention of cash services in local communities is critical and is a national issue that needs forward-looking centralised planning."