Cash use rises for second consecutive year…..
Cash use in shops increased for the second consecutive year, reversing a decade long decline, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
Last year, notes and coins accounted for one in five transactions as shoppers found cash to be an effective tool for managing their budgets. The average spend per transaction also decreased slightly from £22.43 in 2022 to £22.03 in 2023.
Figure from the banking trade body UK Finance showed a rise in the number of people relying on cash for daily expenses, reaching a four year high. This trend coincided with persistent inflation and the ongoing cost of living crisis.
Despite the growing use of digital wallets among younger generation – 72 percent of 18–24-year-olds regularly use their smartphones or watches for payments – cash remains the second most popular payment method in the UK after debit cards. The BRC emphasises that all large retailers remain committed to accepting cash in their stores.
However, the trade body and small businesses have voiced concerns about the costs associated with card payments. They have called for regulators to take more meaningful action to address the fees charged by card companies, which are placing increasing financial pressure on retailers. Small businesses have also urged banks to maintain physical branches or provide adequate facilities for cash deposits.
Access to cash can be a challenge for amusement operators, particularly those in small seaside resorts where banks have been closing up shop, meaning the operator has to drive significant distances to refresh cash stores. The cost associated with card payments may also receive more scrutiny from the industry as more and more operators implement cashless solutions, and especially if the prohibition of card payments directly to machines comes to an end as the government has promised it will in the gambling review. While this will further increase the number of card payments made by customers, the BRC’s report shows why very few operators will plan on ditching cash payments altogether.
Cash may no longer be the king as it once was, but there is a place for cash in our day to day living. At this moment fruit machines in pubs and social cards cannot accept card payments so a lack of access to cash can affect fruit machines income. Also the industry needs to be brought up to date so the public can make card payments on a fruit machine like any other card transaction they would make. As an industry we are hoping card payments will be accepted directly on fruit machines in 2026.
