Industry leader Innovative Technology is renowned for some of the most cutting-edge products in the payments sector but it’s still committed to the oldest form of payment – cash. The company is currently urging people to sign a petition to ensure cash is accepted in all operations. Disappointingly, though, the government’s response, however, remains somewhat flacid. 

Innovative Technology has shared a petition via its company LinkedIn profile, encouraging followers to add their names in support of legislation that requires all businesses and public services to accept cash payments.

The petition, which has amassed more than 12,000 signatures since starting on 15 November, calls the use of cash “an urgent matter of national security,” while warning of the risks of a wholly cashless society. 

“We would like the Government to pass a law that requires the right to pay for goods and services with cash,” states the petition. “This could include a legal framework that includes penalties for outlets that refuse cash payment and mandates the maintenance of local cash handling infrastructure by the banking sector.”

“We think the threat to a cashless society consists of total societal collapse arising from the collapse of digital payment networks or the underlying electrical power networks they depend on.”

After the petition reached the 10,000 signatory threshold for a government response in December, a spokesperson for HM Treasury said: “It is for individual organisations to decide whether to accept cash as a form of payment.”

“However, existing regulation protects access to cash and supports the ability of organisations to accept cash.”