Biggest Aussie bank commits to keeping the cash flowing

The leaders of Australia’s biggest bank are vowing to support paper money, which they don’t see ever disappearing as a payment method.

There was a long-term commitment to ensure cash was delivered across the economy, Commonwealth Bank chief executive Matt Comyn told shareholders at the lender’s annual general meeting in Sydney on Wednesday.

Cash use has stabilised in recent years at about 15 per cent of Australia’s overall payments, or eight per cent by value, according to the Reserve Bank’s triennial Consumer Payments Survey.

About half of Australians use cash in a typical week, and it’s particularly important for those who rely on it for budgeting, accessibility or as a backup when electronic payments are unavailable, the RBA says.

“People still use cash infrequently, but still value it,” Mr Comyn said.

“I cannot foresee a time when cash isn’t being distributed around the country.”

Commonwealth Bank spends about $400 million each year making sure cash was available, chairman Paul O’Malley said.

This year it formed a venture with the other three major banks to establish a joint cash pool to distribute cash to its ATMs, branches and customers.

“The purpose of the joint venture is to have the parties who are otherwise bearing the costs basically being able to do that on a break-even basis to ensure sustainability,” Mr Comyn said.

The meeting was still ongoing late Wednesday morning, with shareholders later set to vote on a double-pronged resolution involving the bank’s approach to financing activities that contribute to deforestation.

Super fund provider Australian Ethical, which co-sponsored the resolution, says vast amounts of land in NSW and Queensland are being cleared, mostly to make way for livestock pastures.

An area the size of 480,000 football pitches laid side by side was deforested in the two states in 2023/24, according to state government figures cited by Australian Ethical.

“What the resolution is asking is for CBA to put in place a plan to, at some point, stop financing deforestation,” Australian Ethical’s ethical stewardship lead Amanda Richman told AAP on Monday.

“It’s not saying do it overnight, but give us your plan – tell us that you’re working on it.”

CBA’s board has recommended that shareholders reject the resolutions.

“Forest loss can have impacts on nature. But not every instance of land clearing is the same,” Mr O’Malley said in his address.

“Evidence of clearing on a property by itself doesn’t tell you what the appropriate banking response should be.”