Community access to cash pilots revealed

The Community Access to Cash Pilot will test new subsidised ATMs and local cash deposit centres for retailers.

The pilots will take place in remote communities, including the village of Botton, North Yorkshire, and Lulworth Camp, a military barracks in Dorset that miles away from the nearest cash machine.

Small towns that have seen bank branches or ATMs disappear are also included, such as Ampthill in Bedfordshire, Rochford in Essex, Denny near Falkirk, and Cambuslang in Lanarkshire.

Burslem, in Staffordshire, is also included, as is Hay-on-Wye, which has a large number of small businesses but no bank branch to deposit notes and coins.

Banks are paying for the pilots, trying out ideas like shared branches, more cashback in shops, as well as better bus services to allow people to visit surviving branches.

The pilot is being led by Natalie Ceeney, who chaired the Access to Cash Review, she said: “Over the past decade we’ve seen a massive shift from cash to digital payments, and Covid-19 has accelerated that trend further. But we know that digital payments don’t yet work for everyone, and for many individuals and communities, cash remains essential,” she said.

“But the world is changing – we can’t just magic back our old bank branch and ATM infrastructure. Instead, we need to use innovation to develop new solutions as well as harness tried and tested approaches to meet people’s needs.”

The results of the pilots will be published in early 2021.