There's a small mountain of cash that's simply gone missing from the official books in the UK, and it's time the Bank of England went looking for it.
英國官方帳簿上有堆成山的現金不見了，英國央行該去尋找了。
The Bank of England should investigate where around 50billion of "missing" banknotes is "stashed", a committee monitoring the effectiveness of public spending has said.
一個監督公共支出效果的委員會表示，英國央行應該調查「失蹤」的約500億英鎊的現鈔被「藏」在哪裡。
The Public Accounts Committee said the Bank needs to "get a better handle on the national currency it controls".
英國公共帳目委員會表示，該行需要「更好地處理其控制的本國貨幣」。
It said authorities have been behind the curve in ensuring access to cash for consumers and businesses, and are failing to understand or act on the dangers of hardship if the UK continues moving towards a cashless society.
在確保消費者和企業的現金獲取方面，當局一直處於落後地位。如果英國繼續朝著無現金社會邁進，當局也沒有理解困難的危險，或採取任何行動。
The committee said there are implications for public policy and the public purse if a material proportion of the large volume of banknotes whose whereabouts or use are unknown are being used for illegal purposes.
該委員會說，如果大量下落不明或用途不明的鈔票中有很大一部分被用於非法目的，將對公共政策和國庫產生影響。
It said the Bank of England does not "appear to have a convincing reason for why the demand for notes keeps increasing" or any real understanding of where around 50billion of issued sterling notes are, although it acknowledged that it is a trend being seen with other major currencies. The Bank estimates that 20% to 24% of issued notes are used or held for cash transactions. This leaves about 50billion of issued banknotes that may be being used overseas for transactions or savings, or held in the UK as unreported household savings or for use in the shadow economy.
英格蘭銀行「似乎沒有令人信服的理由來解釋對紙幣的需求不斷增加」，也沒有真正了解大約500億英鎊已發行紙幣的去向，儘管該委員會承認，這是其他主要貨幣的趨勢。該行預計，在英國已發行紙幣中，只有20%至24%用於交易，剩下的大約500億英鎊「下落不明」。這些紙幣可能被用於海外交易或儲蓄，可能是英國境內未申報的家庭儲蓄，也可能被用於地下經濟。
Meg Hillier, chairwoman of the Public Accounts Committee, said: "In many areas where you can use cash you'd be hard pressed to find it, at least without paying an ATM fee that may be a substantial percentage of a small withdrawal - yet making frequent, small withdrawals can be a key budgeting tool for those on low incomes, and least able to afford those fees.」
公共帳目委員會主席梅格希利爾表示：「在許多可以使用現金的領域，你很難找到現金，至少不需要支付ATM手續費，這可能是小額取款的一個重要比例——然而，對於那些低收入、最無力支付的人來說，頻繁、小額提款可能對他們的預算至關重要。」
The committee recommended that by January 2021, the Treasury and the Payment Systems Regulator should give an assessment of cash only being available from paid-for cash machines, or through Post Office counter withdrawals. They should also set out steps to ensure adequate access to free cash machines.
委員會建議，到2021年1月，財政部和支付系統監管機構應評估只能從付現取款機或通過郵局櫃檯取款獲得的現金。他們還應制定措施，確保能夠充分使用免費提款機。
By the end of March at the latest, the Treasury should publish a clear plan of action, including draft legislation for securing access to cash across the UK. The plan should include clear commitments, including spelling out what the regulators are expected to achieve, the committee said.
最遲在3月底前，財政部應公布一份明確的行動計劃，包括確保英國各地獲得現金的立法草案。該計劃應包括明確的承諾，包括闡明監管機構預期實現的目標。
Vocabulary
1. Banknote 紙幣
2. Stash 藏匿
3. Behind the curve 落後於形勢
4. Public purse 國庫
5. Whereabouts 下落
6. Sterling 英鎊
7. Shadow economy 地下經濟
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