It has said that some may have ended up being stashed overseas, stuffed under mattresses or stocked up for use in the 'shadow economy' - of off the books cash transactions. Five public bodies – the Treasury, the Bank of England, the Royal Mint, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Payments Systems Regulator (PSR) – play a role in administering or overseeing the cash system. There is no single body with responsibility for overseeing how well the cash system is performing. Gareth Davies, the head of the NAO, said: “As society progresses towards the wide use of digital payments, the use of cash in transactions is dwindling. He added: “HM Treasury now works more closely with the public bodies in the cash system to achieve the Government’s goal of safeguarding access to cash.

Source: Daily Mirror September 17, 2020 23:02 UTC