ESTA Offer the ERPB an Alternative Perspective on Cash

The European Retail Payment Board (ERPB) issued a questionnaire about acceptance and access to cash in April 2021. In mid-April the European Secure Transportation Association (ESTA) withdrew from the ERPB working group on the basis that the ERPB’s investigation about cash usage was too narrow. ESTA has issued its own report and provided that to the ERPB in the hope that it will take its rather broader perspective in to account.

ESTA starts its report by listing the advantages of cash.

• It is instantly available,

• It can be stored independently from anyone,

• It can be used without control of anyone, without fees, without restriction,

• It does not require any infrastructure to be used,

• It works without intermediaries,

• It allows property rights to be established independently from any third party,

• It provides protection against any intrusion

• It is the only means that allow non-banks to withdraw their deposits from banks without having to spend them if they do not want it.