Cash is Key for Convenience

For convenience, cash is king. New research shows the majority of payments in convenience stores across Britain are made using notes and coins.

The popularity of ‘corner shops’ has boomed as people have been driven to shop locally, and data reported by Talking Retail shows that two thirds of all transactions are made in cash. This information comes from research combining sales data from PayPoint—a payment service provider operating in the UK, Ireland and Romania—with regional data showing people’s general reliance on cash (based on a nationally-representative sample of 2,000 UK consumers).

The research also found a geographical divide in cash preference, with residents of County Down in Northern Ireland most likely to choose it—with 69 percent of purchases made in cash—and people in Oxfordshire least likely, although 46 percent of their purchases are still cash-based.

One in five Brits use an ATM two to three times per week, and nearly two thirds believe more should be done to protect cash. Scots feel most strongly about this, with 67 percent wanting better protection for physical money as a payment option.

Following this research, PayPoint has committed to ensuring better access to cash across its network of 28,000 retail partners. They have announced the nationwide rollout of a counter service allowing people to withdraw cash free-of-charge, which has been trialled over the past year and proved extremely popular.

Another source of free withdrawals—the Post Office—also back the continued popularity of cash with figures showing a record £665 million in personal cash was withdrawn in July. This is the highest monthly figure on record, with the exception of Decembers that are traditionally extremely busy for cash.