Fresh backing for our demands after more shops refuse cash

ONE in five consumers has been blocked from paying with cash at shops since lockdown rules were eased this summer – prompting more support for The Mail on Sunday’s Keep Our Cash campaign.

The consumer group Which? is the latest to back our demands for cash to always be available on the high street, with a bank and free cash machine in every town. Which? shares our concern that more than five million cash-dependent people could be ostracised if cash access is further restricted.

Gareth Shaw, head of Which? Money, says: ‘It is the speed of change that is most alarming. The number of ATMs has dropped by 8,000 – about 13 per cent – since the first lockdown in March last year. Over this same time more than 800 bank branches have also closed down, with a further 100 or so being due to shut later this year.’

Research by Which? has found that 80 per cent of people believe businesses and shops should continue to take cash.

Separately, a pilot scheme, chaired by campaigner Natalie Ceeney, ends this month. It includes two shared bank schemes and the installation of free ATMs. Ceeney says: ‘Being able to pay with cash is important. We need rules to stop the harm its loss causes.’