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Small Business Strategy Inquiry 2025 - ACT and Bira call for members to share their voice

20 Jun 2025

The House of Commons Business and Trade Committee has asked the ACT, and its parent company Bira, to help them reach out to small business retailers across the country, for their quick input on... Read more…

Beyond the discount: Restoring integrity to the cycle supply chain

18 Jun 2025

The Association of Cycle Traders believes the time has come for greater accountability throughout our supply chain, writes ACT Director Jonathan Harrison in an article published for BikeBiz.
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Bira welcomes Wales' business rates proposals but calls for key improvements

11 Jun 2025

Bira has welcomed the Welsh Government's consultation on business rate reforms for retail shops, whilst calling for significant improvements to ensure the proposals truly support high street... Read more…

New awards launch to champion Britain's independent high street heroes

9 Jun 2025

Retailers on Britain's high streets are being encouraged to put themselves forward for the first-ever Love Your High Street Awards, designed to celebrate the small businesses that bring... Read more…

"Tectonic shift" in employment law threatens independent retailer viability, warns Bira podcast

6 Jun 2025

Independent retailers are facing a "generational" transformation of employment law that could fundamentally change how small businesses operate, according to the final episode of Bira's first... Read more…

Retailers hope warm weather and bank holidays will boost high street sales

16 May 2025

ACT parent company Bira has said that members are hopeful the warm weather, Easter weekend and upcoming bank holidays will provide a much-needed boost to high street sales.
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Economic growth surges to 0.7%, but "April reality check" looms for high street retailers

15 May 2025

UK economy delivers strongest quarterly performance in a year despite forecasts of business downturn.
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Communities come together for Local Bike Shop Day 2025 celebrations

13 May 2025

Local Bike Shop Day 2025 brought a wave of... Read more…

ACT parent company Bira welcomes Bank of England's latest interest rate cut

8 May 2025

ACT parent company Bira has welcomed the Bank of England's decision to reduce interest rates from 4.5% to 4.25%, calling it a "much-needed boost" for the retail sector, including for cycling... Read more…

ACT parent company Bira responds to Beales' "Rachel Reeves Closing Down Sale" as iconic store makes final protest

8 May 2025

ACT parent company Bira has responded to the news that the 144-year-old Beales department store is staging a "Rachel Reeves Closing Down Sale" in its final weeks of trading, with giant yellow... Read more…

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UK not ready to go cashless yet

Posted on in Business News

The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) welcomed the latest findings from the Access to Cash Review suggesting that the UK isn't ready to go cashless just yet.

The Access to Cash Review highlights how there is an overall decline in the use of cash across the UK, coupled with a fall in ATM use and the increase in businesses becoming cashless.

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Key findings from the report shows that:

  • Over the last 10 years, cash payments have dropped from 63% of all payments to 34%, with the figure projected to fall to 16% by 2027.
  • The number of LINK ATM cash withdrawals for the year to November is down over 5% in 2018, compared to the same period in 2017.
  • Despite the fall in overall cash payments, 97% of the UK population carry cash with them
  • 2.2 million people only use cash
  • 47% of the UK population believe it would be personally problematic if there was no cash in society

These findings are interesting and a reflection of a divide between the UK's public.

There are both concerns and positive responses to the idea of going cashless, with some of the concerns raising fundamental and crucial questions.

Cash today is still an integral part of society much like the UK's high streets are. Although cash is becoming more and more redundant on the day to day it started at the epicentre of society and it will remain there. Without access to ATMs the public will struggle to find a balance between card payments and the need for cash. There will always be those restaurants and beauty salons that are cash only, causing issues and barriers when customers need to access cash. What about the convenience stores that hold minimum card charges? Does this mean that every time you pop into one you need to collect £5 worth of product before being able to pick up that one item you wanted?

The notion of a 70% cashless UK is feasible and probably more or less underway today, however in agreement with the ACS, a cashless society leads to more issues than solutions.

ActSmart provides two solutions to the rising importance of being able to accept card payments; Global Payments for established businesses with medium to high card turnover and Paya Card Services for new and smaller businesses with lower card volumes.

 

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