According to Which?:
The pandemic has had a dramatic impact on the UK’s already fragile cash system. The closures of bank branches and free-to-use ATMs have continued at pace, while worries about the safety of handling notes and coins (since debunked by the Bank of England ) have led some businesses to refuse to take cash.
With life getting back to normal, we want to ensure that shoppers that need to use cash are able to. So we’ve launched the Which? Cash Friendly pledge – a public commitment retailers can take to signal to customers that they welcome cash payments.
Aldi, Asda, Co-op, John Lewis, Lloyds Pharmacy and Waitrose are among those who have all made the public commitment to keep accepting cash in their stores. Together, the supermarkets are responsible for almost 4,500 stores in the UK, and have a combined grocery market share of more than 30%.
Speaking to Which? Alison Owens, who owns Lodge Cottage Farm Shop in York said;
“As a small local business we think it’s important not to exclude anyone, and we would never refuse anyone trying to pay with cash. A lot of our elderly customers rely on cash and people are often telling me that other stores will now only take card payments. We are a small farm shop that has served the local community for 10 years and will continue to accept cash for people buying our goods.”
While it’s good news that retailers with a combined market share of 30 per cent, have signed a pledge to continue to accept cash, it will count for nothing if we cannot access cash in the first place.
Which? acknowledged that ATM machines are disappearing from our towns and cities at the speed of light. Bank branches and post offices are disappearing just as swiftly. This must be addressed and quickly.
The cashless agenda is just one that has advanced in the last year, but it is central to the plans of those who would transform the way we live and reset society. If we go totally cashless (and we’re getting there), our fate is sealed.
