Co-op

North-south divide ‘noticeable’ in cash use, research finds

A new Co-op report also reveals that cash use has fallen from 65% to 28% since 2016.

New research by Co-op into cash use has shown a “clear” northsouth divide that highlights inequality issues, the retailer said.

The Co-op’s ‘Way we pay’ report has found that, whilst cash use has fallen from 54% to 28% since 2016, in many areas cash payments remain as high as 44%; counties in Northern Ireland, the Northeast, Wales and Scotland top the list.

The same areas have also been hit by bank closures, with half of all banks closing since 2015, while the majority are also affected by poverty and high unemployment levels, according to the retailer.

Although London tops the list of places where contactless payments are most common, some boroughs still see one-in-three shoppers paying by cash.

In terms of the areas least dependent on cash, English counties made up 80% of the list – with 50% of those in the Southeast and 25% in the Southwest – where unemployment levels are low. The only northern English county with a reduced reliance on cash is Greater Manchester.

Additional research from Which, also featured in Co-op’s report, finds those most likely to use cash are people in the lowest income households and it suggests that a third of respondents whose annual income was lower than £20,000 found cash easiest to budget.

The data also revealed that many people who do not regularly use notes and coins would use more cash to help manage finances as budgets are squeezed during the cost-of-living crisis.

The Co-op has also launched a charter aiming to safeguard easy access to cash, which includes protecting the use of cash in stores; offering free-touse cash machines while also retaining free-to-use cashback facilities at stores without ATMs; and supporting access to cash through banking services provided through its post office counter network and One Banks in-store services.