Government urged to guarantee access to cash for all

The charity’s new Behind the Headlines report Short-changed: How the decline of cash is affecting older people warns that being cut off from cash and banking services is “tantamount to being excluded from society, and is a risk for many more of us than is often assumed”.

Age UK is calling for the urgent introduction of a Universal Service Obligation (USO) on banks to guarantee access to cash for everyone. USOs already exist for water, electricity, post, and more recently, broadband services – recognising how essential they all are to our daily lives. The charity believes the time has come for the government to put the cash system on the same footing.

The charity says it would be a mistake to assume that everyone in our society is willing or able to make all their financial transactions digitally. A YouGov survey in January 2021 found more than half of older people (65+) in Great Britain had used cash within the past week, despite the UK being in a national lockdown and with many older people shielding at home. Furthermore, nearly three-quarters of people 65+ and almost two-thirds of adults under 65 in Great Britain used cash at some point in the past month.

The charity says that being able to use cash helps people on a low-income budget more effectively, as well as acting as an essential backup for those who are not online or who live in an area with poor connectivity. Many people with health conditions, disabilities, and dexterity issues find paying in cash much easier than with a bank card or a phone, the report finds.

In addition, the report shows that while the pandemic has had a significant effect on spending behaviour and cash usage, £81bn was still taken out from ATMs last year, equivalent to £221m every day, £9.2m an hour, or £153,000 a minute.

Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: “This report demonstrates the continuing critical importance of cash in our society. It’s not only essential for older people but for us all, in a world increasingly compelling us to manage our money digitally. Protecting the cash system is essential for enabling millions of citizens to go about their lives, and since it was still widely used during the pandemic, when spending opportunities were few, it’s going to be all the more important for us once we emerge from it and return to some kind of normality.”

She added: “It’s time for the government to recognise how important banknotes and coins are to all our lives and treat the cash system as the essential piece of infrastructure it is – just like utilities, post and broadband. If the government is serious about ‘building back better’ after the pandemic, then they must legislate to protect cash access within a reasonable travel distance of people’s homes. This will not only help the millions of citizens of all ages who risk being excluded from society if cash is allowed to die, but can also help revitalise our high streets as local businesses strive to recover from the last nightmarish 15 months.”

In response to the report, Simon Youel, head of policy and advocacy at Positive Money, said: “The pandemic has seen an escalation of the war on cash by corporate interests who stand to gain from this public payment method disappearing, with swathes of ATM closures taking place as demand for cash has reached record highs.

“Because of powerful lobby efforts on the part of banks and card companies to remove their only public competition, for the millions who rely on cash daily this has become a war on two fronts. Not only has it become harder to withdraw cash, but it’s now become a challenge to use it.

“With Covid-19 only accelerating the disappearance of ATMs, we need central banks to continue rebutting unfounded anti-cash propaganda, so that those who depend on it most aren’t excluded from society.”