Government officials and consumers alike are rejecting a proposal to change Norwegian law so that hotels and restaurants could legally refuse to accept cash as payment for goods and services. A movement to accept only debit or credit cards seems unlikely to gather much momentum, at least for now.
Newspaper Aftenposten reported on Friday that employers organization NHO Reiseliv, which represents players in the tourism industry, planned to ask the Finance Ministry for the change. They claim it would, among other things, reduce tax evasion and make workplaces more secure.
The proposal flies in the face, though, of increasing moves by merchants, especially in the tourism industry, to accept euros along with Norwegian currency from their customers. The increasing acceptance of euros has been hailed as both “good customer service” and a solid means of increasing revenues, with several tourism industry organizations encouraging more merchants to do the same.
Government officials, meanwhile, have rejected banning the use of cash, saying that’s “a right we want to preserve.” A sampling of customers scoffed at the proposal as well, with one man telling Aftenposten it was “completely idiotic.”
newsinenglish.no/Nina Berglund
