‘Cashless London ruined my holiday’

Banks are closing, ATMs have vanished and retailers still refuse to accept cash, throwing spending plans into disarray. By Will Kirkman

Britain is fast becoming a cash desert, throwing budgets into chaos for those braving a winter getaway. London is the worst offender for the declining usage and acceptance of cash. The number of withdrawals in the capital has fallen by 10pc this year, the most of any area in Britain, according to ATM provider Link, while shops and tourist attractions continue to refuse customers’ legal tender.

Reader Chris Humphrey, 46, and his wife, Veronica, 40, from Glasgow, recently took a three- day break in London with their children but were shocked to find almost nowhere they visited would accept notes or coins.

Mr Humphrey said: “I had specifically set aside a budget for our trip to cover meals, tourist attractions and travel, so I had taken this amount with me in cash.

“I was horrified on arrival to find almost none of the main tourist attractions accepting cash payments with no prior warning.

“Even though I had paid for tickets for places such as Madame Tussauds, the Tower of London and the Prince Edward Theatre in advance, any souvenirs, snacks, lunch or anything else had to be paid for using a card.

“It is virtually impossible to keep track of spending using only a debit or credit card, whereas with cash you can clearly have a budget and stick to it. This put my spending plans for London in complete disarray over the three days I was there.”

‘ These places didn’t take cash, and gave no prior warning’ Chris Humphrey had set aside a budget in cash but was shocked to find it rejected almost everywhere

The Tower of London disputed Mr Humphrey’s claim, saying it had accepted cash in its shops since September.

Cash use has nearly halved in London since e before the pandemic. . Scotland, the South East st and the South West have e seen similar falls. Nationnally, the number of withhdrawals has dropped by 44pc since 2019.

Access to cash and its acceptance in shops and at attractions has become ome a growing problem. Banks nks have accelerated their closure programmes this year, with 736 branches shuttered. ered. Meanwhile, the number er of free ATMs has fallen by a quarter since January 2018, , with fewer than 50,000 remaining. ining.

This has hit the elderly ly and the vulnerable the hardest, ardest, said charity Age UK. It has also made it harder for tourists to budget and avoid hidden card fees.

Nathalie Harston, 50, from RhôneAlpes in France, said she had taken out cash to spend during her visit to London in November to avoid incurring high card charges from her bank on foreign payments.

But she had to return home with the notes when she was repeatedly told retailers only accepted cards.

“I couldn’t believe they wouldn’t take our cash. It’s legal tender, so it makes no sense,” Ms Harston said. “I was shocked at how many places pointblank refused. My bank charges me a fee every time I tap my card when I’m abroad, which adds up.

“We thought we were doing the right thing by changing currencies and withdrawing money, but clearly Britain is well on its way to being a cashless society.” Graham Mott, of Link, said the pandemic had accelerated the shift from cash to digital payments and that he did not expect cash use to return to pre-pandemic levels. The banking industry made commitments this week to protect access to cash for the areas with the fewest bank branches and ATMs. All major high-street banks agreed to fund so-called “banking hubs”, run by y the Post Office, in areas left without easy access to cash. They will offer an over- the- counter basic banking facility and dedicated rooms where customers can meet their own bank for more complex transactions. Hubs are set to open in Acton in London, Brixham in Devon, Carnoustie in Angus, Knaresborough in North Yorkshire and Syston in Leicestershire. Two have already been trialled in Essex and South Lanarkshire. Separately, banks have agreed to invest money towards maintaining Britain’s cash infrastructure, so branches will be required maintain access to physical money. This will commit them to work closely with the issuers of notes and coins, retailers and third- party cash machine operators, the Bank of England said.