How often do you find yourself paying for something with cash these days? A local politician is calling on islanders to ditch the digital currency and join him in a ‘cash only’ challenge taking place next week.

Deputy Montfort Tadier launched the Jersey Cash Challenge on social media just weeks after the scrutiny panel that he chairs published its review exploring the acceptance of cash payments in Jersey.

The report recommended that businesses should be required to accept a cash payment when it is the customer’s only means of payment.

A large number of islanders contributed to the review – which garnered 136 written submissions from individuals, businesses and organisations, as well as 2,696 responses to an anonymous five-minute survey.

The majority of businesses responding to the survey said that they were less likely to receive payment in cash, with 71% indicating they mostly received digital payments (via cards, transfers or smartphones) and 20% indicating that cash payments represented under 10% of their transactions.

However, 92% of businesses stated that they accepted both cash and digital payments, with 6% revealing that they only accepted digital payments.

Pictured: Deputy Montfort Tadier (centre) is the Chair of the Economic and International Affairs Scrutiny Panel.

In the foreword of the report, Deputy Tadier said: “Even though cash usage appears to be in steady decline, as other tap-and-pay methods become more widely preferred and used, cash continues to play an important part in Jersey life.

“The vast majority of those we heard from valued choice, and having the ability to pay for goods and services using cash, when they wanted to.”

Included within the report are several recommendations, including that the Economic Development Minister “should, by 30 April 2025, issue interim guidance to businesses indicating that they should accept a cash payment where it is the customer’s only way of paying”.

Last year, it emerged that the number of Jersey notes being ordered by local banks each year has fallen by over £200 million since 2014.

In a statement released alongside the report, the panel explained that it was “concerned that the continuing decline in the use of cash could impact Islanders”.

“The panel is therefore recommending that the minister issues guidance to businesses that they should not unreasonably refuse cash payments, and that differential pricing based on payment method should not take place,” the statement added.

“The panel has recommended that this should already be the case for public services including any third-party providers of public services such as transport.”

Other recommendations within the report include requiring banks to give six-months’ notice to both the government and customers before the closure of any branch or cash machines in the island, as well as the creation of a government strategy and set policy about the acceptance of cash payments in Jersey.

Deputy Tadier’s Cash Challenge will take place from Monday 1 to Sunday 7 March.

Participants are encouraged to keep a diary of their experiences of only using cash to publish at the end of the challenge.