Volumatic offers advice after BRC reveal cash use has risen
19 December 2023
With the festive season fast approaching, new findings from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) show that shopping with cash has risen for the first time in a decade, as UK consumers continue to rely on cash more and more to help them budget for the costly Christmas period ahead amid the worsening cost-of-living crisis.
The report, issued in early December, echoes the findings of UK Finance, Enryo (an independent organisation that supports the financial services industry) and The Post Office published earlier this year, which suggested that cash was seeing a resurgence, and found that cash usage has risen to 19% in the last year, up from 15% the previous year.
As well as the cost-of-living crisis affecting how people pay for goods, this rise in cash can also be attributed to a more natural return to cash following the slump caused by the pandemic, but in addition to that is the fact that many retailers, restaurants and leisure outlets are now abandoning their stance on going cashless, mainly due to the astronomical rise in card fees making the stance of card-only payments simply unaffordable.
The BRC report revealed that UK retailers spent an eye-watering £1.26 billion in card processing fees last year, and since the fee caps that were previously in place under EU law have now disappeared following Brexit, these will no doubt continue to rise at an exponential rate, putting businesses under even more pressure in what has been yet another challenging year.
So what can businesses do to address the rising cost of fees for card payments?
Embrace cash
The first step is obviously to make sure you accept cash!
After the pandemic, which saw many businesses go cashless or advise customers against using cash as payment through fears that cash could help to spread Covid (since completely disproved by the WHO), many consumers who want to pay cash are still finding that they are being pushed towards card payments.
However, white paper findings from leading industry experts including Enryo, Volumatic and Vaultex in recent years have shown there is still an appetite from the majority of the UK to use cash for some transactions - a YouGov report earlier this year showed only 3% of the UK never use cash - and that consumers most definitely want to retain the choice of how to pay, rather than being restricted to one payment method.
This means that businesses should be accommodating their customers' demands, and in doing so will also reduce some of the sky-high card processing fees they’re currently having to pay – keeping both sides happy!
Invest in cash handling technology
While card processing fees continue to rise – and seemingly nothing can be done to stop this - cash processing fees can be easily reduced by investing in the right technology.
Cash handling experts Volumatic offer a wide range of solutions that can help your business not only save money, but also become more secure and more efficient.
From basic CountEasy cash counting scales and secure cash storage solutions to our award-winning CounterCache intelligent (CCi), Volumatic has a cash handling solution to suit every business and every budget, helping you process your cash more effectively.
Compared to expensive card handling fees, cash handling can be dealt with quickly and easily for a fraction of the price, and retailers typically see a reduction of up to 75% in their cash processing costs when using the CCi, for example.
Promote the fact that you accept cash
We’ve all become familiar with seeing ‘card only’ or ‘cashless’ signs at till points the length and breadth of the UK, but if you’re happy to accept cash again to help yourself and your customers, it makes sense to let them know.
Cash Welcome is an independent organisation that champions cash usage and has the support of many industry leaders. They provide an easy way for local businesses and communities to demonstrate their support for cash by providing you with ‘Cash Welcome’ stickers to display in your establishment(s), letting your customer base know loud and proud that they can pay by cash.
The continued growth of cash
What is most interesting about the BRC report regarding cash usage is that this is only the beginning of the revival of cash. While it’s fair to assume that both card and mobile payments will continue to rise over the next decade and beyond, there is undoubtedly still space for cash in the hearts and minds of the UK public, and not only has the last year seen a rise in cash usage, but now the Government are now taking steps to ensure it continues to grow.
Under new government legislation, the facilities to make free cash withdrawals and cash deposits need to be made available within a mile of those living in urban areas and at least 3 miles from more rural areas, and fines will be issued to banks if money cannot be withdrawn or deposited, suggesting that cash is once again being taken seriously.
Mike Severs, Sales and Marketing Director at Volumatic said: “As a cash handling company we’ve always championed cash usage, but as industry leaders we’re also well aware that cash is a vital cog and plays a vital role in the UK and across the globe. We’re not against card or mobile payments, but cash is reliable and anonymous and can really help businesses in these uncertain times.”
“The findings published by the BRC are really important because they prove what Volumatic and other industry experts have been saying both before and since the pandemic – that cash should be embraced by businesses, both to keep their customers happy and to boost their profits at a time when so many people are struggling. We’ve seen many of our former customers who chose to go cashless during the pandemic now accepting cash once more and returning to us as they’ve had to turn customers away who want to pay by cash, which is a real eye-opener. Cash has so many advantages and hopefully this report gives cash payments yet another boost!”