Is Cash Use Rising? Millions are reportedly turning back to cash as the cost-of-living crisis grips the UK. Make sure your business is maximising its cash handling procedures today.
We all know times are hard. And everyone is feeling the squeeze as prices go up across the board. As people seek to tighten control of their spending and keep a grip on their outgoings, cash use is going through the roof.
According to research by the Post Office, a record £801 million in personal cash withdrawals were made in July, rising by an increase of nearly 8% month on month.
In total, a record £3.32 billion in cash deposits and withdrawals was handled at the Post Office’s 11,500 branches across the UK.
Despite claims being made that the UK is becoming a cashless society, it’s become abundantly clear this is far from the case.
“Our latest figures clearly show that Britain is anything but a cashless society", said Post Office Banking Director Martin Kearsley.
So just why is cash use rising? And what can you do to make your cash handling procedures easier?
Why is cash use rising?
Cash is tangible, and that makes saving easier. As we outlined in a previous article, having a tangible representation of your funds allows you to monitor your spending easily and can help you save. And as Natalie Ceeney from the Cash Action Group states, this can be essential in such times:
"If you have just got £30 for the week, having it in cash means you can put money aside for food, you can put money aside for bills, see if you have got anything left and just avoid going overdrawn."
But it doesn’t stop there. The issues facing the travel industry means thousands are choosing to staycation here in the UK rather than travel abroad. Many see cash as a way of budgeting for their local trips, while allowing them to support local businesses in their holiday locations, saving them the burden of credit card fees.
Indeed, cash use is rising. Users of Cardtronics ATMs were asked in June 2022 if they saw cash as a means of budgeting, with some 39.2% saying they did.
As the cost-of-living continues to bite, and inflation rises, this number will only continue to rise.
How can you maximise your cash handling procedures?
As more and more of your customers pay with cash, you are going to see more of it coming through your tills.
But that means more than just making profits. It means more counts, more staff time taken away from serving customers, and overall – more expenditure.
That’s where we step in. On average, our customers save at least one hour per day per store by using a Cashmaster One device for their counts. In fact, why not calculate your potential savings with our Savings Calculator?
The Cashmaster One count-by-weight money counter offers increased accuracy, time saving, and integration with your back office systems. There’s no need for counting by hand anymore, nor inputting data to your systems. With the Cashmaster QR-Link, all the data from your count is easily transferred over to your in-house system – it couldn’t be easier!