AN Islander with impaired vision has spoken out in support of a proposition aimed at establishing the right for customers to pay for goods and services using cash.
Jenny Stafford, who has a severe sight impairment and is a committee member of the EYECAN charity, was among the attendees at a public meeting in St Brelade. The event was organised by Deputy Montfort Tadier, who introduced the proposition which is set to be debated by the States Assembly this week.
Deputy Tadier is seeking support from fellow politicians to require businesses to accept cash for in-person transactions, as well as requiring ministers to produce a policy on the long-term plans for cash usage in Jersey.
Following the meeting on Friday, Ms Stafford told the JEP that those who were blind or sight-impaired could be marginalised if they were denied the option to use cash.
“I’m classed as vulnerable by my bank which means I can only tap my card three times before I have to validate a payment with my PIN,” she said. “But many venues have ‘flat screen’ number pads which I can’t see to use.
“Some venues say they will take my PIN and input it, but we are always being told by banks not to give away this information, so I am not prepared to.
“As things stand I will always carry cash and can use it in most places instead of paying by card, but if I lose this right then it will affect my independence.”
Ms Stafford, who was a finalist in the Ambassador of the Year category in the 2025 Pride of Jersey awards, said she preferred to shop locally, but might become obliged to do more online shopping if she was no longer able to pay cash and the arrangements to pay by card were not secure.
“They used to say the customer was always right, but now for some businesses that seems less important,” she added.
Around 20 people attended the meeting at Communicare to support the move.
Deputy Tadier said he believed that leaving some members of society unable to complete transactions in shops, cafés and restaurants was far more harmful than the “slight imposition” of requiring businesses to accept cash transactions as a small proportion of their sales.
“There are all sorts of reasons people might want to pay in cash,” he said. “Sight impairment is one, but there may also be those who can’t remember their PIN, or who have lost their phones or have a flat phone battery, or even some people who are in coercive relationships where their partner tracks their card spending.
“The old saying that ‘cash is king’ doesn’t apply very often these days, and if something’s not done there’s a risk that cash-users would become ‘persona non grata’ – they wouldn’t even be minor royals.”
