New Zealand's Reserve Bank has told banks they must continue providing cash services to customers, according to RNZ. The directive comes as banks rapidly close branches and ATMs, leaving rural and elderly customers without access to physical currency.
The Kiwis are taking a stand against the cashless push. This is about financial inclusion - not everyone can or wants to go fully digital.
The Reserve Bank's intervention addresses growing concern that New Zealand's rapid shift toward digital banking is leaving vulnerable populations behind. Rural communities, elderly citizens, and others without reliable internet access or digital literacy face being locked out of the financial system.
Banks have been aggressively closing branches and removing ATMs as they push customers toward online and mobile banking. The business case is clear - physical infrastructure is expensive, and digital transactions are cheaper to process. But the social costs of this transition have been less carefully considered.
For rural New Zealanders, the nearest bank branch or ATM can now be hours away. Elderly customers who aren't comfortable with smartphones find themselves struggling to access their own money. Small businesses in tourist areas that depend on cash transactions face new complications.
The Reserve Bank's directive doesn't specify exactly how banks must provide cash services, leaving room for creative solutions. Mobile banking vans, partnerships with post offices, and maintaining a basic ATM network in underserved areas are all possibilities.
Going cashless isn't inevitable, and it's not necessarily progress if it excludes people. The Reserve Bank's decision recognizes that financial inclusion requires maintaining options, not forcing everyone onto the same digital platform.
Observers noted that New Zealand's action contrasts with Australia, where similar concerns exist but regulatory intervention has been slower. The message from Wellington is clear: banks have social responsibilities beyond their bottom lines.
The banking industry has pushed back, arguing that maintaining cash infrastructure is costly when usage is declining. But regulators counter that access to cash is a public good that warrants protection, even if it's not maximally profitable.
This is part of a broader conversation across the developed world about digital exclusion and the pace of technological change. The assumption that everyone can seamlessly adopt digital services ignores real barriers faced by significant portions of the population.
Mate, there's a whole continent and a thousand islands down here. Not all of them have reliable internet. Cash still matters.
