Here is the situation in Australia in the last 5 years or so. Cash is more difficult to get as banks are closing down physical branches and removing their ATMs, and meanwhile, the Central Bank (RBA) is completing their trials of a CBDC, while the government is removing the ability to pay with cheques in the next few years.
Less access to cash
More than 300 bank branches closed nationally in the last financial yearBanks also closed 963 ATMs last year as services moved online
Over the past five years, 30 per cent of Australia's bank branches have shut
Between January 2024 and November 2024, we'll be phasing out our cash and cheque services across all Macquarie banking and wealth management products, including pension and super accounts. We're also switching off our automated telephone banking service used to make payments over the phone.This means from November 2024 we'll no longer offer cash or cheque services. Instead, you'll be able to make payments digitally - a safer, quicker, and more convenient way to bank.
The cheque system in Australia will wind down no later than 2030.As part of the Strategic Plan for Australia’s Payments System released today, the Government has announced it will remove legislative and other requirements that entrench payment by cheques. We will also phase out government usage of cheques by the end of 2028.As the use of cheques plummets and many banks and financial institutions stop issuing cheque books to new customers, it is important to manage this transition in an orderly and planned way.The Government will work with industry to minimise adverse impacts to consumers and businesses and ensure vulnerable Australians have the assistance they need to switch to other payment methods.
Less access to Bitcoin
Banks are starting to block online transactions to exchanges, here are the statements of some of the largest banks in Australia:
We may limit the amount you can pay to certain accounts or merchants, for example those we believe to be associated with cryptocurrency exchanges, to no more than $10,000 in total from all of your accounts each calendar month.If you are a new customer, the limits will be effective from 29 July 2023.
From 18 July 2023, we are introducing new customer protections by declining some transactions made to high-risk cryptocurrency exchanges.
18 May 2023: Westpac has begun trialling new customer protections for some cryptocurrency payments to reduce scam losses.
The future
You can start to see a pattern here, government, banks, and the central bank, all aligned into removing access to cash or Bitcoin, while pushing for a CBDC in the future.
- The Australian government released A Strategic Plan for Australia’s Payments System. Here's the report that shows a CBDC is part of the plan:
Vision for the payments system:A modern, world-class and efficient payments system that is safe, trusted and accessible, and enables greater competition, innovation and productivity across the economy.Treasury and the RBA will release a paper in mid-2024 that takes stock of the work to date by the Treasury and the RBA on CBDC in Australia, and outlines the forward workplan for Treasury and the RBA on CBDC in the broader context of the future of digital money in Australia.
- Reserve Bank of Australia releases CBDC trial report. Here's the report. Basically it says the CBDC will be useful but there are still some issues, and it will take some years to implement.
Given the many issues that are yet to be resolved, any decision on a CBDC in Australia is likely to be some years away.