Access to Cash

How habits have changed through the pandemic

The number of consumers using cash has increased to 73% in the past two weeks, the highest level LINK has recorded during the pandemic.

Half of people are using less cash than they were pre-Covid, according to new research from Link, the The research, which looks at Covid-19’s effect on consumers’ attitudes to cash, shows 25% of respondents say they are using the same amount of cash and 4% are using more.

The latest research shows the number of consumers using cash in the past two weeks has now increased to 73%, the highest-level LINK has recorded during the pandemic.

The research also showed a change in where people are using cash. Locations showing increasing usage are supermarkets, other retail, services like hairdressers and most especially pubs. Locations that have shown very little change are c-stores, fuel, DIY stores and parking.

In addition, the research shows that while overall ATMs were 20% busier this varied a lot across the network. Town centre ATMs were 50% to 60% busier and airport ATMs around 200%, but convenience stores barely changed, probably because people kept using them right through the pandemic.

Graham Mott, Director of Strategy at LINK, said: “Our view is that ATM use will never return to pre-pandemic levels and that people who perhaps were using less cash generally are now entirely comfortable using their phones or contactless. That being said, we’re still seeing £1.5bn withdrawn from ATMs every week. That’s still a lot of money and there are a lot of people who rely entirely on cash.

“Looking ahead, one new development and one we will be monitoring carefully, is that 8% of people say they are going to use more cash to budget and save because of rising living costs.”

Mott concluded: “We understand that people are far more comfortable using technology, but importantly, not everyone can use digital and perhaps there’s no better way to budget than notes and coins.”