Rural communities continue to be hardest hit by lack of access to cash

By David Shrimpton in Industry News 1st July 2020

Nearly one in eight UK consumers (12%) no longer have easy access to cash, with rural communities hardest hit, new figures show.

Information published yesterday (30 June) by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) reveals the locations of “cold spots” around the country where consumers do not have access to cash within a one-mile radius.

Access may be through a bank, post office or building society branch, or through an ATM.

Through its Financial Inclusion Programme, ATM network operator Link aims to ensure all consumers have free access to cash within one kilometre.

But the new PSR/FCA modelling shows 12% no longer have access within one mile (1.6km).

In rural areas especially, a large number of ATMs and post offices are hosted by local convenience stores.

James Lowman, chief executive at the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS), said: “Cuts to ATM interchange fees have hit ATMs in rural and neighbourhood areas hardest, which are often hosted by local shops and the only way for local communities to access cash freely.”

Findings from the ACS 2020 Rural Shop Report show 45% of rural shops provide a free-to-use cash machine for local customers, while 28% have a post office.

Seventeen percent have a paid-for cash machine and 66% offer cashback.

Said Lowman: “The government needs to step up to secure long-term access to cash by setting interchange fees on a sustainable basis.”