43% of people in Wales ‘have now visited places where cash was not accepted or discouraged’
Almost half (43%) of people in Wales have recently been somewhere where cash has not been accepted or has been discouraged, according to ATM network Link.
Car parks, cafes, restaurants and public transport are among the places where cash acceptance has begun to become particularly limited, Link’s findings indicate.
Nearly half (49%) of people across the UK affected said that being unable or being discouraged to pay in cash was inconvenient.
London was found to be the top location where people had experienced a lack of cash acceptance, with 55% of people surveyed there saying they had encountered the issue.
The North East of England was the location where people were least likely to have found a lack of cash acceptance, with just over a third (36%) experiencing it.
In Scotland and Northern Ireland the figure was slightly lower than Wales, at 42%.
Link has been regularly carrying out research to understand people’s attitudes towards cash use.
It found one in eight (13%) people have found it more difficult to keep track of their finances due to using card payments in shops instead of cash and 16% are keeping cash at home in case of emergencies.
Graham Mott, director of strategy at Link, said: “If a shop, pub or restaurant no longer accepts cash or prefers customers to pay using card or mobile payments, we can now see that almost half of people find this problematic while the other half have no concerns.
“We know some people simply prefer using cash, but there are millions who can’t do digital payments, so being unable to be pay in notes and coins is still frustrating for some.”
‘Worrying’
More than 2,100 people across the nations of the UK were surveyed in early November and asked about their experiences with cash acceptance in the previous eight weeks.
Financial inclusion campaigner Lord Holmes, who is vice chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on FinTech, said: “It’s understandable that people may be frustrated in locations like car parks, but the worry of creeping non-acceptance is what happens if councils or vital services like pharmacies or supermarkets stop accepting cash.
“At the moment, it’s still not feasible to expect everyone to pay for things on their phone or via contactless.”
The Government has said it will legislate to protect the future of cash.
Rocio Concha, Which? director of policy and advocacy, said: “It’s worrying to see so many people prevented or discouraged from using cash when our research has found millions still rely on it to pay for everyday essentials or to manage their finances amid a cost-of-living crisis.
“Long-awaited legislation to protect cash must include guarantees of a minimum level of free access so that millions of people affected by bank branches closing and cash machines charging fees are not forced to pay to withdraw their own money.
“In order to avoid sleepwalking into a situation where cash users are excluded from certain services, the Financial Conduct Authority should play a proactive role in monitoring cash acceptance and taking action where appropriate.”
Results
Here are the percentages of people across the UK who said they had been somewhere since early September where cash has not been accepted or has been discouraged, according to ATM network Link:
– London, 55%
– East of England, 49%
– South East, 46%
– North West, 46%
– Yorkshire and the Humber, 45%
– South West, 44%
– Wales, 43%
– Northern Ireland, 42%
– Scotland, 42%
– East Midlands, 41%
– West Midlands, 39%
– North East, 36%
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Which is something to be pushed back against…convenience destroys peoples freedom because people generally only see service level details. A cashless society is so dangerous for many reasons. 1. What happens if your credit is tied to your work and you go on strike for example? What happens if they bring back the fact that you can only spend your credit places your work place deems acceptable? You will no longer be exchanging your Labour for a fair wage!
I’ll be honest…. If I have come to pay for something and you don’t accept cash, I will just not pay and either steal what I need or go somewhere else. They* want to link your identity to your mobile phone, they have wanted this for a long time, the mobile phone has come a long way from being merely a phone or even a toy to amuse oneself with (although, personally, I despise the person I was when I was impressed by such things as mobile phones, and I don’t have much respect for empathy for people who are… Read more »
TLDR: “Revelation 13:17, NIV: so that they could not buy or sell unless they had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of its name.”
I’ve visited some of these places; and walked straight out again. We should all do the same.
Yes, its a thought.
Here is something that I find endlessly amusing: the Labour Gov in Cardiff, the same one that gives itself a pat on the back for free school meals and the sugar tax, has absolutely no interest in facing down such issues as the Cashless Society, Big Brother surveillance, and the displacement of humans by machines.
Imagine, Drakeford’s school teacherly admonishment: ‘Dont be so stiwwwwpid!”
Have to admit, I avoid the (few) places that are still cash-only…..I never use it now, it’s just so inconvenient!!
👆Oh, looks like the “back in the old days jihad” doesn’t like you preferring electronic payment.
Mention here of millions of people affected by bank branches closing. Let’s not forget too that for a business to be able to take cash, they also need regular access to a bank, not just to deposit their takings, but to make up the float for the till, so as you can actually give customers who do pay in cash their change. I’m certainly not one of these “but what about the business owners” types, but one of my jobs is working in a rural, independently run pub, and we have a fairly limited window for getting notes and change… Read more »
If there was no longer any cash, it would be necessary to re-invent it.
(It happens in prisons – inmates will trade using ramen, gum, or tinned-fish or sim-cards or whatever makes a good currency.)
Don’t really care. I don’t like carrying around pictures of QEII and I won’t like carrying around pictures of Chucky 3.
Despite the potential for abuse, electronic payments are just better in every way. I keep a chequebook only for one single payment twice a year (of £7.50) to one single organisation owned by a stubborn old bloke who doesn’t trust “new fangled” things like … email (and no doubt fax machines and Sony Walkmen).
Cash is only favoured by the elderly and tax-dodgers