Public Can Report Cash Access Issues Directly to Central Bank

Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris will approve new guidelines allowing the public and small businesses to report local cash access deficiencies directly to the Central Bank. This initiative underpins the Access to Cash measures.

Individuals, businesses, community organizations, and representative bodies can notify the Central Bank about existing or potential local deficiencies in cash services. The guidelines will detail the required information for notifications, the assessment process, and factors the Central Bank will consider, such as ATM/branch closures, population growth, travel distances, and demographic impacts.

In February, the Central Bank reported Ireland's cash infrastructure largely met ministerial criteria, with over 4,000 ATMs and 1,200 cash service points, but noted six instances where criteria were not met. These guidelines aim to ensure communities have a clear channel to raise concerns about increasingly difficult local cash access, following a 2023 Dáil vote for greater cash access after some businesses refused cash post-Covid-19.