News

New research published today by LINK, the UK’s cash access and ATM network, has revealed the clearest picture to date on the state of cash acceptance on the UK high street.  

The research is part of a new report titled “Keeping Choice Alive: Measuring Cash Acceptance on the UK High Street”, led by LINK’s independent Consumer Council, and supported by the Federation of Small Businesses, Post Office and PayPoint.  

Despite more people choosing other ways to pay, cash is critical to millions of people. This report sets out the enduring value of cash for the high street, but also the pressure retailers face when they choose which payment methods to accept.  

The work follows a recent inquiry by the Treasury Select Committee into cash acceptance, which warned that without action, the UK risks creating a twotier high street, where some customers are effectively shut out of shops, cafés, and local services because they cannot pay digitally. It also highlighted the lack of data available on cash acceptance and requested that HM Treasury monitors cash acceptance.  

The research surveyed 1,116 high street SMEs across the UK.   

The key headlines from that survey show: 

• Cash has an enduring value on the high street. 77% of small and medium sized retailers accept cash. 

• But the picture is changing rapidly. Some 14% have gone cashless over the past twelve months.  

• 46% of in-person transactions are still cash-based. In sectors such as independent retail, cafés and pubs, convenience stores, and launderettes, cash usage is consistently above this average. 

• The biggest driver to becoming a ‘cashless’ business was fraud prevention (22%) followed by security concerns (21%) and lack of customer demand (20%). One-fifth (19%) also highlighted that digital payments made bookkeeping and accounting much easier to manage. A lack of deposit facilities (13%) and the closure of the local bank branch (11%) was also highlighted. 

• Over four-in-five high street SMEs (82%) say they would value better access to deposit facilities, such as Post Offices and banking hubs.  

• The cost of handling cash is a major concern to a quarter of businesses, with 46% paying over £50 per month just to handle deposits and 15% paying more than £200 per month.  

• Despite these pressures, the research shows that for many SMEs, cash continues to support financial control and provide a trusted and resilient payment option. Among businesses that accept cash, nearly half (46%) actively encourage its use. High street firms state avoiding card fees (55%), liquidity (50%), and speed of transactions (49%) as the main benefits of accepting cash.  

• Nearly half of businesses (47%) want to protect the choice to accept cash in the future, and over half believe the decline in cash use is harmful to the high street. A majority (53%) of businesses support mandating cash acceptance, while over half also agree that Government should encourage digital payment adoption, reflecting a desire for a balanced approach.  

To protect the high street and ensure payment choice for all, the report recommends that the UK should:  

1. Stabilise local deposit infrastructure where SMEs trade: Maintain national deposit infrastructure, ensuring SMEs throughout the UK continue to have access to practical and safe cash handling through a network of banking hubs, Post Offices, and deposit-taking ATMs.  

2. A joined-up approach to tackling crime on the high street: Bring together existing national plans on retail crime and fraud into a single, clear framework for the high street. This should provide businesses with practical support to prevent theft and fraud and help staff feel safer and more confident at work.  

3. Monitor acceptance, not just access: Regularly monitor cash acceptance, building on this research, to implement the Treasury Committee's recommendations in their Acceptance of Cash report, tracking where cash is truly usable, not just available. 

4. Promote a balanced payment ecosystem: Continue encouraging digital inclusion alongside cash, preserving budgeting and privacy benefits for customers who prefer notes and coins. Use the National Payments Vision to drive competition and promote choice for retailers.  

Joanna Wallace, Chair of LINK's Consumer Council: "It’s becoming more common to see a sign next to the till in  a shop or cafe saying “card only” - twenty years ago it may have been 'cash only'.  The ways we want to pay are changing and so are the ways we are able to pay - this research shows the complex range of factors that affect any business owner's choice of payment types. But the continued importance of cash on the high street rings true through it all.” 

Nick Quin, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, LINK:“We are making sure that people can access their cash, and businesses can deposit their cash, in every corner of the UK. That is critical as more and more people choose to pay with their contactless card. This research shows that we must continue to give businesses the option to bank their cash locally, and keep a close eye on acceptance. But is also shows that businesses are committed to allowing people the choice of how to pay.”