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The City of Vancouver will no longer accept cash payments over $10,000.

The policy change, announced Thursday, comes two days after city council unanimously approved a motion directing staff to “immediately review and take necessary action” on security processes for cash payments.

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The motion, introduced by NPA Coun. Melissa De Genova, called for enhanced financial tracking of payments to the city for taxes and services, with the intention of deterring money laundering.

Explaining her motivation for the motion, De Genova said she had seen someone enter city hall with a bag filled with cash and ask where to pay the empty homes tax.

Cash payments for city services are fairly rare, including for the empty homes tax, according to the city. Last year, Vancouver’s revenue services collected over $2 billion, including payments for business licences, municipal taxes, and taxes the city collects on behalf of other authorities. Out of that $2 billion received, 0.6 per cent of payments were in cash.