Source: ATMIA
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Earlier this week, I met with Dai Le, the independent Federal MP for the Division of Fowler and councillor for Fairfield/Cabravale Ward, to discuss the importance of Cash and payment choice. Dai Le’s electorate of Fowler, located in South-Western Sydney, is a diverse electorate containing immigrant communities of Vietnamese and Chinese ancestry.
The electorate knows the importance of cash: many small businesses promote using cash to provide better value for their customers.
I spoke to Ms Le about the Keeping Cash Transactions in Australia Bill, which she supports. The key message from our meeting is that Australians want payment choices. They don’t want to be forced into a cashless society, which means less secure and reliable payment options. Ms Le’s electorate is one of the most multicultural in Australia, and we spoke about the importance of cash payments for the multicultural community in her electorate, who prefer the anonymity and ease of use of cash.
We discussed working together to find more MPs who support payment choice and oppose moving to a cashless society. Dai also agreed to circulate our petition, “Say No to a Cashless Society.” www.change.org/SayNOtoCashlessAustralia.
Moving forward, we agreed on the need to proactively oppose calls for a cashless society. While good progress has been made in raising awareness of the consequences of a cashless society, more work is needed to secure Australians’ right to choose how they pay.
“Every day, Australians don’t want to be told how they pay for goods and services. They certainly don’t want to lose money to hidden fees and surcharges. It has never been more important to stand up for our rights to choose how we pay and fight against a cashless society,” stated Sandra Smith, Executive Director, Asia/Asia Pacific Region ATMIA.