New laws to guarantee access to cash have been broadly welcomed by businesses and consumers in Cork.
The Department of Finance says legislative intervention was needed to stop more ATMs being removed from communities as banks move away from cash post-pandemic.
The ‘Access to Cash’ bill enshrines the use of cash in law and will allow the Central Bank to intervene where rural areas do not have access to a local ATM.
Speaking to RedFM news, Michael Cronin from Cronin’s Menswear in the city says many people in society still rely on being able to access cash:
"Younger people are coming in, they all tap. They use their phone or they use a credit card. For a lot of the older people, cash is king, and it always remains so. Not all the elderly people have access to smartphones where they can check their balances, and they're used to dealing in cash, all their lives. And I think they will continue to do so. I think it's important that the machines are accessible for them to take out cash."
