New Zealand First's Cash Transactions Protection Bill - What it is and what it could do
Photo:
123rf
Explainer
- Cash is king, some people say - while others wouldn't be caught dead without their PayWave and Apple Pay.
But a new members' bill
put forward by New Zealand First
would protect cash as a key option in transactions, requiring stores to take it for purchases up to $500.
If drawn from the ballot and passed, NZ First leader Winston Peters said it would "provide for the enduring use of cash as a private, accessible, and reliable method of payment".
The party cited rural communities, the elderly and low-income earners as being disproportionately affected by businesses that don't accept cash.
As a members' bill, lodged 14 July in the name of NZ First MP Jamie Arbuckle, it's still a long while from possibly becoming law, but it does propose sweeping changes in how businesses treat cash and looks at who gets left out in a digital economy. Here's what you need to know.
The Cash Transactions Protection Bill would mandate businesses in trade accept cash payment for goods valued up to $500.
"The bill ensures that New Zealanders maintain freedom of choice in how they pay, preserving cash as what it should be: an enduring private and reliable option", Peters said in introducing it.
"By protecting the sanctity of cash transactions, the bill upholds personal privacy, maintains sovereign control over New Zealand's monetary system, and lessens the risks posed by digital-only payment systems."
There are some exceptions given to the bill's requirements, including online retailers and land purchases.
The bill also would propose that "payment in cash must be accepted for essential goods or services" - which it defines as food, water, fuel, health care and household utilities.
Another part of the bill would require businesses to keep cash on hand for emergencies:
"A vendor must ensure they have sufficient access to cash to allow them to continue to trade in the event of a digital or electrical outage that lasts longer than 24 hours."
In the introduction, the bill says it "preserves cash as an explicit privacy-preserving payment method, ensuring both freedom of choice and freedom from unwarranted surveillance in financial transactions".
"It puts New Zealanders' interests above global trends toward digital currencies, maintaining sovereign control over New Zealand's monetary policy and mitigating the risks associated with digital-only financial systems, like restricted access to funds."
The bill also calls for fees or fines from $1000 to a maximum of $5000 for infringements.
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters.
Photo:
RNZ / Mark Papalii
It's quite a long way from that, actually.
As a members' bill, it's not yet guaranteed it will ever go to the House for a vote.
The bill first will have to be randomly drawn from the ballot to be considered at all in the House, and then undergo the same process of debate and referral to select committees as any other bill.
While it's on the members ballot, MPs are allowed only one bill in the lottery at any given time. NZ First has swapped out its bills on several occasions this term, so there's also no guarantees over how long this legislation will remain in the ballot.
Speaking to
Checkpoint
recently, Retail NZ CEO Carolyn Young said she wondered if the bill was "kind of a sledgehammer for a small problem".
Marisa Bidois, chief executive of the Restaurant Association of New Zealand, said the bill ignored realities many businesses deal with.
"We understand the intent behind the proposed bill - no one wants to see people excluded from accessing essential goods and services. However, requiring all businesses to accept cash for transactions under $500 doesn't reflect the operational realities many businesses face.
"We believe businesses should be trusted to make the right decisions for how they operate and serve their customers."
Members' bills are often used to float an idea or gauge public reaction to it,
Parliament's website notes
.
Yes, as long as they "clearly inform customers in advance that they don't accept cash before you start shopping or receive services from them",
the Reserve Bank of New Zealand said
.
They can do that with a sign on the premises or telling you in person before you pay.
"Most hospitality businesses still accept cash, but a small and growing number are moving away from it, particularly in busy urban areas," Bidois said.
"Some customers do push back when cash isn't accepted, especially if they haven't been informed ahead of time. That's why we encourage clear communication."
You're also only allowed to pay so much of a bill in coins, by the way, in case you're thinking of clearing out that piggy bank - you're allowed up to $5 of 10 or 20 cent coins, $10 of 50 cent coins or $100 worth of $1 and $2 coins.
Shoppers are increasingly using cards over cash.
Photo:
123rf
According to the
Reserve Bank's latest data
released in June, 45.8 percent of the population are still using cash sometimes in "paying for everyday things" - although 79.1 percent are using debit cards/EFTPOS also.
Only 3.6 percent of people say they "never use cash," while 33.2 percent said they hadn't used cash at all in the past seven days.
Cash isn't quite the king it once was.
"We know that less than 10 percent of transactions that happen across New Zealand throughout the year now happen in cash," Retail NZ's Young said.
"In the cities a lot less cash is used and in rural areas and areas of deprivation there is a higher percentage of cash that is used."
Bidois said in the Restaurant Association's latest survey, 40 percent of respondents said cash made up just 5 to 10 percent of their transactions.
Still, when it comes to essentials, "there's no supermarket that doesn't take cash," Young said.
On Peters' Facebook page, the post announcing the bill has gathered nearly 3000 comments and 15,000 likes, with many expressing support for the idea.
"Thank you! I use cash as a way to keep within my budget, as my mother did," one wrote, while another said it was "an essential bill - especially for many of our elderly population".
Photo:
RNZ / Leonard Powell
On the other hand, Young said that electronic transactions are often easier for businesses to deal with.
"Electronic transactions are much safer for a wide number of reasons," she said, including less chance of being targeted by thieves or counterfeit money, and less time for staff dealing with transactions.
"For many retailers and for hospitalities, cafes and things, cash is not always their favoured method of payment because of those challenges."
However, frequently complained-about surcharges such as those for
PayWave
are "not ideal", she said.
Many also have concerns about the privacy and security issues around digital payments and the records they leave behind.
Cash also comes back to the table during disasters, such as Cyclone Gabrielle, which saw infrastructure knocked out widely.
"We do know that when the cyclones happened in Auckland and Gisborne and Hawke's Bay 18 months ago that the supermarkets were really critical for being able to, especially in those provincial areas … they really provided the cash that people needed to be able to pay for goods and services," Young said.
Bidois said that while there was a clear shift toward digital payments, it was all about striking the right balance for businesses.
"Many businesses are finding that tap-and-go is what most customers expect, and it makes day-to-day operations simpler.
"That said, our members care about customer experience, and most continue to accept cash to accommodate older New Zealanders, tourists, or regulars who prefer it."
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero
,
a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
5 minutes ago
- RNZ News
Utilising, protecting Bay of Plenty's geothermal taonga
Geothermal systems in Rotorua are used for a range of activities, including for tourism, health spas or powering large facilities like hospitals. Photo: The Bay of Plenty Regional Council is considering "tweaks" to allocation rules for commercial users of geothermal systems in Rotorua, but is holding fire on a region-wide plan to manage the natural resource. Late last year, the regulator went out for public consultation with updated draft management plans for the systems in Rotorua, Tauranga and the wider region, in efforts to greater streamline the consenting process. The geothermal resources are of cultural, social and economic significance to the region that has 12 geothermal systems. The systems are used for a range of activities, including for tourism, health spas or powering large facilities like hospitals . Furthermore, other uses for geothermal resources include drying timber at saw mills or using water for irrigation or frost protection in horticulture - in addition to generating electricity, heat or water. Bay of Plenty Regional Council's geothermal programme leader Penny Doorman said the resource was a taonga that was generally well managed, and there was even scale for greater use at some sites. But she said ongoing reform to the Resource Management Act - legislation which ordered "outdated" management plans be reviewed - resulted in the regional council pausing the wider regional management plan for the systems. "We've had to pivot a little bit because with the resource management reforms that are underway, council decided not to progress the regionwide plan change, they thought it would be better to wait until there's a bit more certainty about that. "But they have agreed to still go ahead with the changes to the Rotorua part of that regional plan change." Visitors at Te Puia explore Whakarewarewa Geothermal Valley. Photo: Supplied / Te Puia Up to 29 percent of overall use of geothermal water in Tauranga system was for horticulture, and made up 96 percent of geothermal water allocated to non-geothermal activities. In a submission, fruit and vegetable growers raised concerns that changes to geothermal systems management might result in further costs and compliance for users. However, Doorman said access to water for horticultural irrigators in Tauranga was not changing and the plan was progressing, however it would consider changes to allocation limits in Rotorua. "We have made some recommendations for changes to the allocation [in Rotorua]. There's always been a limit to how much geothermal water can be taken from the system and not reinjected, and that limit has just been reviewed through some careful monitoring," she said. "We're basically saying if you're taking geothermal water out of the system to take heat, then you've got to re-inject it." She said it identified a system-wide cap to the amount of heat that could be taken off the system. [audip] "The reason for that is that because it's really important to keep your water levels and your geothermal aquifer high but also hot because that's what our geyser system relies on," she said. "If we can keep heat within this safe operating space, then we know that we can protect the mauri or the health of the geothermal system." Meanwhile, in its submission, industry group Horticulture New Zealand said consent conditions should be reasonable and proportional to the environmental risks at the key Tauranga site. "The council's science has shown that the water quantity will run out before heat in the Tauranga system, so volume is the limiting factor rather than the heat source," it said. "Given that this is the case, non-geothermal uses of war water such as irrigation should not be restricted on the basis of retaining the heat source." It said consent conditions should also be "mindful of cumulative compliance cost on users." It added that there was significant potential for low-temperature geothermal water to be used with ground source heat pumps for zero-carbon greenhouse vegetable growing in future. Growers were also exploring new heat sources for their greenhouses in areas like geothermal, due to the rising cost and limited availability of gas. GNS Science, now the Earth Sciences New Zealand with NIWA, developed a geothermal and groundwater interactive map to help greenhouse growers switch to geothermal heating. Doorman said investigations were ongoing, including into the potential of Tauranga's low temperature geothermal system. She said collaboration with mana whenua was key to managing the natural resources. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
35 minutes ago
- RNZ News
'Great Rides' need double the money to keep running smoothly
The country's Great Rides attract about a million cyclists and walkers each year. File photo. Photo: RNZ / Chris Bramwell Maintenance funding for the country's 'Great Rides' trails will need to double in the next decade, or some will degrade so much they will lose that status. The trails generate just under $1b annually in benefits to regional economies, drawing about a million cyclists and walkers each year. The government puts $8m a year towards the trails through the International Visitor and Conservation Levy, with contributions totalling $129m since 2009. Councils have co-invested at least $60m into the rides in that time. But an Official Information Act response from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, released to RNZ, shows an estimated $160 million will be needed to maintain and enhance the Great Rides over the next 10 years. Per year, it is double the amount currently allocated for the network. "Without additional funding, there is a risk the Great Rides will gradually decline over time, potentially resulting in the removal of Great Ride status from some underperforming trails," the briefing to Tourism Minister Louise Upston says. NZ Cycle Journeys runs cycle hire and luggage transfer services across five of the trails and owner Geoff Gabites told Nine to Noon the trails were "perfectly usable" at the moment, but would need resurfacing soon - the maintenance largely done by local councils, with three trails covered by the Department of Conservation (DOC). He compared that to the 'Great Walks' tramping tracks fully managed by DOC - which owns and manages the huts, thereby collecting an income stream. "On the [Great Rides] trails, there is no mechanism whereby riders themselves can be levied or generate money for the trusts or councils that own the trails," Gabites said. When set up in 2009 under the John Key government, the Great Rides were intended to eventually become self-funding, but the OIA response showed this "has not eventuated as the economic benefits have not flowed back to the trails to allow them to maintain and grow to be a world-class asset". There are no direct revenue-gathering options for the trusts that operate the trails. The problem is exacerbated by trails that have been impacted by severe weather, like the Great Taste Trail in Nelson which will need rebuilding following the recent Tasman floods . "It's that sort of siphoning of money out of the $8m which the government currently fund per annum which is I think causing a significant decline in the ongoing funding available for maintenance," Gabites said. He said given the benefits, it should be on the government to support the maintenance of the trails. "It's hard to actually find a government initiative that has delivered that sort of degree of return, and so you would have to be saying to the government 'this is your investment, and it's really going to be upon you, I believe, to maintain and protect that investment'." They were considerably cheaper than urban-based cycleways to maintain, he said. "In terms of numbers, 48 percent of the riders travel specifically to ride these trails so they're not just 'happen to be there and then go and and do something', it's actually a driver into the region... the $8m that have been granted is the same degree of funding that was in place from, I think, 2018." The government has launched a "programme refresh to respond to this funding pressure", and also has a "full impact evaluation" for the 2024/25 fiscal year under way, scheduled for completion in September. Gabites said tourism operators benefiting from the trail where also were aware they should contribute, and that was being done on a voluntary basis - but it was currently the only way those operators were helping fund the trails. "So Cycle Journeys has had a luggage levy of 15 percent in there, and we've donated something like $126,000 over the last four years - but when the trail maintenance numbers are as high as they are, that's not sufficient to stay ahead of the game." Part of the problem was the lack of any way to charge the users of the trails, and the government's contracts with councils - many of which had a low rating base - left ratepayers to fund the maintenance. "There's multiple entry/exit points, so it's it's just never been set up to do this - and also legislatively as well, there's no mechanism," Gabites said. The MBIE briefing notes the government is exploring differential funding from councils "based on a local government deprivation index similar to that used by the New Zealand Transport Agency to fund roads". James Bell from ski and bike hireage company TCB Ohakune is heavily involved in the town's business community and said everyone including DOC and iwi seemed to be "pitching in where they can and where is necessary", but the trails themselves needed to be completed to make the whole system run smoother. "The biggest challenge right now - and this might sound a bit harsh - is we're currently driving a three-wheeled cart, because that cart isn't complete and therefore working on maintaining a three-wheeled cart is a lot tougher. Makes more sense, at least, for our community, to add that fourth wheel." As an example, many of the trails have been at least partly on-road since the scheme was launched, and the MBIE briefing notes that a $7.9m bid to have 120km of the Alps 2 Ocean ride shifted to off-road was rejected. Bell said there were also other ways to get the maintenance done, like new levies or commissions or through concession agreements. Minister Upston in a statement to RNZ said she was aware of the maintenance issues and cost pressures. "An ongoing challenge is how to generate revenue to reinvest into the trails to ensure they continue to offer a world-class experience. MBIE is currently working with sector partners to refresh the broader Great Rides programme. I'm committed to finding solutions to ensure the future of the Great Rides for Kiwis and international visitors alike," she said. The government has also confirmed plans to spend $3m on adding e-bike charging stations to the trails, with a second round of funding launched in June - however the MBIE briefing noted there was a "low level of support for installing e-charging stations" from stakeholders. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
35 minutes ago
- RNZ News
House sellers lower expectations, real estate website says
From 1 January 2024 to the end of May 2025, homeowners asked for an average of $894,915 for their properties but achieved an average selling price of $898,845. Photo: RNZ House sellers are reducing their expectations below what buyers are willing to pay, listings site says. It has produced data showing how sales prices compare to the asking price at the time the property was sold. Between 1 January last year and the end of May this year, homeowners asked for an average of $894,915 for their properties but achieved an average selling price of $898,845. The data used the price in the month that the property was officially sold. Other data, which shows vendor discounting, tends to compare sales price to the initial price at which a property was listed. spokesperson Vanessa Williams said sellers were meeting the market. "The last 18 months have been tough for sellers, but we are seeing that by the time their home sells, vendors are getting realistic with their price expectations. This seems to be having a surprisingly positive outcome, as they are ending up with slightly more than they bargained for." Auckland sellers were asking an average $1.26 million and selling for an average $1.27m. In Canterbury, they were asking an average $745,995 and selling for $759,715. In Wellington, they asked an average $901,484 and sold for $918,668. Williams said Wellington was the area with the biggest positive difference. Coromandel stood out as the region where vendors received notably less than their expectations, with an average asking price of $1.117m compared to an average selling price of $1.071m. Northland and Waikato also had asking prices above sales prices. Williams said it was normal for a vendor to list a property with a high price, perhaps with the memory of what a neighbour sold for in recent years. "Then as the campaign goes along the market starts to tell the vendor how much the property is worth, you start to see that asking price drop because if they want to get the property moved they have to meet the market." She said when the market was busier, vendors could not keep up with how quickly the market was growing. "People are frantic and they just want to secure a property. Yeah, and so what usually happens is we do see that gap between asking prices and selling prices, be far higher and therefore drives the market up and up and up - until a point." She said while the gap might be bigger in a busier market, it was a sign that buyers and sellers were meeting. "Now we are seeing well priced properties move." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
