Cornwall’s capital goes cashless

CORNWALL’S only city has had an enormous growth in its number of cashless transactions in the past year.

Truro, in 2020, had 151 per cent more transactions using chip, contactless, or smartphone payments than it did in 2019, according to payments provider SumUp.

It trails only behind York (166 per cent) and Glasgow (178) in terms of growth in cashless payments and is growing faster than fellow South West city Plymouth - which grew by 148 per cent.

The numbers show that businesses in the crucial, yet divisive, tourism industry have been switching away from cash payments more than ever before.

Tourism’s cashless payments increased by 495 per cent, with groceries (252 per cent), outdoor markets (160 per cent), fast food (151 per cent), and food trucks (100 per cent).

Given government advice to avoid cash payments where possible, this follows many businesses rejecting ‘real’ money altogether this year.

As well as this, many customers may have been opting to avoid cash themselves, even if the vendors were allowing it.