THOUSANDS of council tax customers will have to find new ways to pay their bills after a cash ban at Macclesfield Town Hall.
From March onwards, the freeze will mean residents – who made 66,700 cash payments in the last year and about 140,000 in a previous year – will go elsewhere to settle their accounts.
The no-cash policy at the central Information Centre, which has taken more than £23 million cash in the last 12 months, will also cover business payments and "sundry debts".
But pounds and pence will still be accepted for parking fines, hackney, personal or private licences, special collections, trade waste and pest control services.
Heralded by the council spokesman as "a bid to help post offices and shops", customers can now pay by cash at 59 other outlets in the borough, including post offices; pay by direct debit and telephone – or become internet-savvy.
Lisa Quinn, the borough council’s corporate manager for finance, said the switch will mean more convenient payment locations, in support of both post offices and small businesses.
She added: "Around three-quarters of customers already pay by direct debit, an increasing number do so online and people can also pay by telephone. We’re aiming to provide a greater choice of options."
But using real money at the town hall is not one of those options, and the shift means some of the council’s older customers will have to change the habit of a lifetime.
An Age Concern spokesman said: "Most older people are happy using debit and credit cards. However, some prefer to manage their money by dealing in cash and cheques. For these older people removing the option of being able to pay by cash or cheque would be a real problem."
A borough council spokesman said: "We accept any post office cuts will go ahead regardless of this but there will still be plenty of places left to pay."He added: "The vast majority of people don‘t pay by cash anyway, and now people won’t have to come into the town hall.
"At present, the Council currently accepts around 140,000 payments each year. More than half of people visiting the Council’s centres are there solely to pay a bill.
"The Post Office and Paypoint network will provide council customers with more than 50 outlets within the borough and hundreds more around the country. A similar number of outlets is situated around the periphery of the borough, which would benefit customers who work outside the Borough and who may wish to make payments during the day."
The change means that MBC’s information centres at Knutsford and Wilmslow will also stop taking cash payments for council tax.
Leaflets detailing the changes are available at MBC’s offices and list 29 post offices and 30 PayPoint outlets across the Borough. To pay at a post office or Paypoint, customers need to take a bill, statement or invoice supplied by MBC which will include a barcode.
Meanwhile, MBC has launched e-billing, to enable residents and businesses to receive statements or invoice by email and check their details online. To register, follow the links at www.macclesfield.gov.uk
