‘Outrageous’: Jason wants to change cash laws after his local bank branches disappeared
Exclusive: Jason Bryce’s crusade against the cashless movement began when his local bank branches started to disappear.
The Melbourne man was living in Yarraville in the city’s inner-west in 2019, where the suburb’s Commonwealth Bank (CBA) branch closed down.
Jason Bryce began his crusade when his local bank branches began to close. Jason Bryce
Bryce then moved to nearby Williamstown, where the CBA is scheduled to shut its doors in November, and the same fate awaits the bank’s Altona and Altona North branches.
Crucially, the ATMs will remain accessible at all three locations as CBA consolidates the branches into one at Altona Gate Shopping Centre.
“Overall, the number of CommBank ATMs across these locations will increase from six to seven, with ATMs available across all four locations,” a spokesperson told nine.com.au.
While CBA announced a moratorium on regional bank closures, the big-four bank is still thinning the herd in capital cities.
“It was all very sudden, and that was despite the fact there was a queue out the door, especially on pension day,” Bryce told nine.com.au.
“I think this is outrageous.”
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Bryce founded popular advocacy group Cash Welcome, which champions better access to cash and keep physical banknotes flowing in Australia.
The graveyard of major bank branches in Melbourne and Sydney has pushed him to challenge lenders like CBA to keep cash readily available.
“It was pretty clear that they weren’t responding to changing consumer behaviour. They are pushing us away from cash,” he added.
Commonwealth Bank branches will shut next year in Williamstown, Altona and Altona North in Melbourne. Reuters/Edgar Su/File Photo
Australia’s crawl toward a cashless society was slowed when a federal cash mandate was introduced for grocery and fuel retailers, enforceable only for transactions of $500 or less.
The recent Reserve Bank decision to ban card surcharges has also tipped the scales in the favour of cash advocates.
Spenders responded to the RBA’s decision in droves: the total value of Australian banknotes on issue surged to a record-high of $109.389 billion just weeks after the ban kicked in.
But Bryce insists these welcome changes may be pointless if many Australians – particularly older and regional residents – cannot access banks in-person.
The number of bank branches in Australia has dwindled to 1459 from 2335 between 2017 and 2025, according to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).
Some of the country’s biggest banks have committed to a pause on regional closures until 2030.
However, the looming expiration date could spell chaos for cash advocates.
Bryce is certain that lawmakers and banks can do more to support a national cash guarantee.
Australia’s crawl toward a cashless society was slowed when a federal cash mandate was introduced for grocery and fuel retailers. Louie Douvis
His Change.org petition calls for stronger legislation to ensure Australians have reasonable local access to cash or banking services and the choice to pay cash at every physical retailer.
“A lot of people are just excluded from the cash economy, and it’s on the banks as much as anybody,” Bryce said.
“The banks have got to support the cash system.”
Over 223,000 people have signed his call to arms, with the petition gathering momentum after the Coalition flagged plans to introduce a “Cash is King” bill that would force most retailers to accept in-cash transactions of up to $2000, up from $500, and remove the 7am to 9pm restriction.
Bryce’s petition demands that all suburbs and communities have an ATM or bank within reach.
He points out that the Netherlands introduced a law in early 2026 that mandates accessible and free ATMs within five kilometres of any person.
To facilitate this, four major Dutch banks merged their ATMs into one shared network.
A similar scheme could be implemented in Australia after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) green-lit a three-year trial for shared regional ATMs.
It would see the top four lenders and other major banks pool their resources to set up face-to-face financial hubs in about 10 towns currently without a branch.
The proposal requires an exemption from existing laws to enable the banks to work together.
Bryce is confident his petition – and the Australians who signed it – can help reverse the damage done by years of bank closures and cash bans.
“We believe that legal tender means we have a right to choose cash to pay for the goods we need to live,” Bryce added.
“And the banks have got to provide access to cash.”
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