The Liberal Party is on the same wavelength as the government - naturally; they no longer do opposition or difference. Wait, wait, wait to see what the RBA comes up with. To hell with what the population wants. Leave all decisions to bureaucrats. They also acknowledge the “complexity” of the current ‘payments and surcharge system’.

Complexity! What happened to the simple idea of offering something for sale, convincing the customer to buy it, and being paid what the goods or services are worth? After you have set out your business plan, and decided how much you need to charge to make a profit.

The Liberal Party is “mindful” of the effect on small businesses on surcharges. If they are, why, when they were in government and now as opposition, didn’t they pull the greedy banks into line. The bloody banks are skimming off at least a billion dollars per annum already via these obnoxious surcharges, and providing nothing in return. They are cutting back on branches and ATMS in order to save themselves more money at customers’ inconvenience and cost.

As with everything else in Australia, this surcharge rip-off by the robber barons will not be solved while we have this horrible ‘sameness’ between Labor and Liberal. We are virtually a one-party-state. And it will stay that way - actually get much worse - because Australian voters are just as whipped and cowered as they are in traditional totalitarian states. Add ‘stupid’ to that.

Ttbn- With a bit of gay and green washing (Woke/ Marxist washing) the Labor Party will let the banks get away with it. The Woke/ Marxist's don't love the poor they hate the capitalist's. And capiitalists think that everything can be solved with money rather than good management.

This is the price of cashless society.
Now you have to pay extra just to pay your bills.

Ah, the Kudos Kid, its getting a bit crowded in your hippy micro bus, with all those woke, green, gay, Marxists piling in. Just as anyone who would think the Liberal Party is a hotbed of Nazi's, those like you who think the Labor Party is a seething mass of Marxist, are nut jobs. We have a few here, you included.

Hi AC,

Its too simplistic to say there is no cost to the consumer imposed by a business like a supermarket, for "payment processing" be it cash or card, just because that cost is not separately highlighted doesn't mean its not there, its hidden. Like all overheads, cost of payment is factored into the final selling price. I imagine cash handling through the likes of 'Armguard' is a substantial cost to big retailing businesses, and that cost of doing business has always been passed on to the customer, without the customer realising it.

A Bill to protect cash payments for small amounts - up to $500 - has been introduced to the New Zealand Parliament. If passed, payments over $500 for food items would be protected.

Unlike Australia, where it reported that 16% of the population still uses cash, only 6% of New Zealanders do so. Many of them store cash for emergencies when technology goes down. Only 17% do not store any cash.

16% of the Australian population is 4,320,000 approximately - the number of people said to still be using cash only. Not an inconsiderable number to ignore. More than the combined population of Brisbane and Adelaide.

There are no figures showing the percentage of people (like me) using both cash and cards. It seems to me that only figures that make a cashless society look good are of interest to to the petty tyrants determined to control us and make life more scary and dangerous - more open to scams and fraud.