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Payment habits across six towns show the continued importance of access to cash
A new report published today by LINK, the UK’s Cash Access and ATM network, highlights how despite the changes in payment habits and as a consequence the reduction in ATM numbers and bank branches, cash services continue to be a key draw for people visiting their local high street and remains a vital part of daily life for millions across the UK.
Counting on Cash coincides with the one year anniversary of regulations introduced by the Financial Conduct Authority to protect access to cash. It looks in depth at six towns across the UK to understand the unique relationship with payments, cash use and how they are adapting to the digital economy.
While all of the towns that LINK visited and interviewed locals: Acton (London), Bathgate (West Lothian), Bakewell (Derbyshire), Cleethorpes (Lincolnshire), Denbigh (Denbighshire) and Stamford (Lincolnshire) have seen a reduction in cash machine use, the report highlights the different lived in experiences in those locations and how place is important.
The research shows an average of 38% of shoppers across these towns used or planned to use cash services during their high street visit. This ranges from just over one-quarter (27%) of people in Bathgate and Stamford, to almost half of the shoppers in Acton and Cleethorpes. In more affluent towns such as Bakewell and Stamford, there is a preference for card and mobile payments only, whereas Cleethorpes and Denbigh continue to have a strong use of cash alongside card payments. However, in Acton, where there is also a high preference for digital payments, there continues to be a strong use of cash, possibly because of higher levels of new entrants to the UK.
In each high street, banking services was a key reason for people to visit town, with an average of 57% seeing it as important. But people had different views in different places. In Stamford (which still has three bank branches on the high street) 46% cited it as an important reason, while in Cleethorpes (with one branch remaining), 71% viewed it as key. This could be being driven by the vibrancy of high streets, with a 14% reduction in visits in Cleethorpes, and 21% reduction in Bathgate since COVID compared to slight increases in visits in both Bakewell and Stamford.
While a growing number of people are choosing and prefer to bank and pay for things digitally, the research shows that 62% of people still use their local high street for banking services, driven by paying in money. A quarter of consumers believe that greater access to banking and financial services should be a priority in revitalising high streets.
The report makes several recommendations which are:
- Maintain national commitment to cash access
- Adapt infrastructure to local needs
- Promote digital inclusion alongside cash access
- Continue hyper-local assessments to avoid leaving communities behind
Nick Quin, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, LINK: “Our report is called Six Towns, but it’s very much about six different stories. For people who don’t use cash regularly or visit bank branches, the pace of change of the bank branch and ATM infrastructure will have little impact on their day-to-day lives. But the work being done to protect access to cash isn’t a sideshow or there for a tiny minority. The nation’s cash infrastructure remains critical to the economy and as this report shows, it’s important to our high streets too.
What’s key to note is that every community is different. That’s why we visit hundreds of high streets as part of our assessment process to make sure that places have the right cash services for their local needs.”