Newstalk Breakfast presenters Ciara Kelly and Shane Coleman have clashed around the future of cash.

Public bodies bodies are set to be told they will have to continue to accept cash when consumers are paying for services.

It comes after the NCT operator was forced into a u-turn when it said it would stop accepting cash for booking tests.

In Ireland, businesses must accept cash unless it is clear they only accept other ways to pay.

The CCPC says this can be as simple as a sign in the shop saying ‘card transactions only’.

"As long as you decide to continue in the presence of such a sign, this is considered agreement", it says.

If a business doesn’t clearly state that it only accepts certain methods of payment, it must accept cash.

A customer taking cash from her wallet in November 2022. Picture by: Marc Calleja / Alamy Stock Photo

Ciara said she believes choice is the right move.

"I'm one of those people that never has any cash in their wallet; I am purely a card/Revolut person now," she said.

"This isn't on my own behalf [that] I'm making this argument, but I think it's an important argument to make.

"There are people who are disenfranchised by online payments, by credit cards, by Revolut: older people, maybe young children.

"There are other people who like to budget by having a certain amount of cash in their pocket.

"There are other people who believe that big State is tracking them and they don't want to be on the banking system every time they make a transaction... and I kind of think that is important.

"We have to give citizens a choice; we are moving into an era where the State is becoming a bigger State all the time, and appears to have a relentless desire to influence our behaviour at every turn.

"To me, cash and card - or cash and online - these are both things you should be allowed to do, and you should be allowed choose to do them off your own bat without any kind of influence by anybody."

A person using a Revolut card to pay. Image: Panther Media GmbH / Alamy

Shane said he believes forcing the use of cash is putting off the inevitable.

"I think we're being unfair to older people when we say they struggle to use cards and stuff," he said.

"I think the vast majority of older people are quite well able to use a card to pay for services.

"I think it's a more efficient way of doing it, I think it's a more tax efficient way of doing it... I think there's far less room for the black economy.

"I think it's the way of the future; I think we're kind of holding back the tide a little bit.

"I was in Germany recently, I couldn't believe it, it was 'cash only' in loads of places.

"A lot of it apparently is a cultural thing about the State perceived as meddling; that's conspiracy theory stuff," he added.