Staycationers splash the hard cash in holiday hotspots

BRITAIN’S tourism hotspots experienced a cash boom last month as “staycationers” withdrew physical currency in record amounts.

The Post Office handled an unprecedented amount of cash in a single month, with £2.9 billion deposited and withdrawn.

Personal cash deposits exceeded £1 billion for the sixth successive month. Overall, business cash deposits were 23.5 per cent higher than in August last year.

It comes as popular holiday spots, including leisure centres, pubs and holiday parks, recorded a 7.5 per cent yearon-year rise in cash withdrawals between January and July, according to Notemachine, the cash point provider.

Peter Mcnamara, of Notemachine, said: “This goes to show just how crucial cash is for supporting local economies, many of which have limited broadband connection, and so are unable to support contactless payment infrastructure.”

Recent Post Office research found that nearly half of small hospitality and leisure businesses in Britain rely on cash every day.

Despite this, British towns have lost more than 500 bank branches since the start of the pandemic.

The Post Office has an agreement with nearly 30 banks which enables customers to carry out their day-to-day banking in its branches.

Martin Kearsley, of the Post Office, said: “Postmasters have been on hand throughout the summer dealing with record amounts of cash and supporting local businesses in the community by staying open long hours and weekends, providing a convenient place to deposit much needed cash takings.”