On Monday, the Chinese central bank said that it is illegal to reject cash as a form of payment as electronic payments are becoming popular in the country. They also said that rejecting it would cause many to lose confidence in physical money and it is unfair to people who are not used to electronic payments.
The comments of the People's Bank of China was posted in its official WeChat account on Monday amidst the growing number of public facilities and shops using electronic payments from either Alibaba's Alipay or Tencent's WeChat.
The introduction of these electronic payment channels had caused some vendors in Beijing and Shanghai to stop accepting physical cash.
The bank said "Electronic payments has given us a new way to pay, but it must not replace cash payments. Over time, the practice can become second nature and people could lose confidence in cash."
They also said that the practice is unfair to the elderly and to those who live in underdeveloped parts of the country who are not yet familiar with the electronic payment system or have yet to know of it.
The central bank also pointed out that local authorities were adding to the problem as they are trying to promote their technological advancements with taglines like "cashless city." Even if that is the case, the bank said that it should not mean that they will no longer accept money.
