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Grants of up to £100,000 made available to boost Cornish High Streets

7 Nov 2023

Communities across Cornwall can now apply for grants of up to £100,000 to improve High Streets, the council has said.
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Warwickshire County Council launches campaign to promote Christmas shopping at independent businesses

6 Nov 2023

A Christmas campaign encouraging Warwickshire’s independent town businesses to shout about why shoppers should buy from them this year is making a comeback.
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The Times names prettiest towns for indie Christmas shopping

6 Nov 2023

With just over six weeks until Christmas, The Times has named what it says are the seven prettiest towns in the UK for Christmas shopping, making special mention of the presence of independent... Read more…

Cardmitment campaign launched to remind people of the power of sending greetings cards

23 Oct 2023

Cardmitment campaign launched to remind people of the power of sending greetings cards
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New guides welcome on how to make shops more accessible for the elderly

23 Oct 2023

The International Longevity Centre has released new guides to show the steps retailers need to take to make their shops more accessible for the elderly.
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Bristol sandwich shop named best in the UK

23 Oct 2023

Family-run Bristol sandwich shop Sandwich Sandwich has been named best in the UK at the UberEats awards.
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Convenience stores to trial UK’s first digital proof of age card

23 Oct 2023

Convenience stores are set to be part of a testing programme for the UK’s first digital proof of age card.
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Police deploying facial recognition technology to target shoplifters and other retail criminals

23 Oct 2023

“Game-changing” facial recognition technology is targeting prolific retail criminals, including shoplifters.
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Prime Minister's Funding Injection for Left-Behind Towns Welcomed by Bira

10 Oct 2023

British Independent Retail Association (Bira) acknowledges the Government's investment in towns across the UK.
 
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Indie retailers say policing minister’s citizen’s arrest solution to retail crime is ‘high risk’

9 Oct 2023

Policing minister Chris Philp has encouraged shop workers to make ‘citizen’s arrests’ on shoplifters, a message branded as ‘dangerous and irresponsible’  by... Read more…

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Cash use fell again in 2021 as contactless accounts for a third of all payments

Posted on in Business News, Cycles News

In its latest Payment Markets Report, UK Finance has said that the 40.4 billion payments made by consumers and businesses in the UK during 2021 represented a return to pre-pandemic payment volumes after a significant fall in 2020 due to Covid-19 lockdowns.

And, as the economy reopened, payment trends reverted towards their long-running patterns, with card payments increasing and cash payments continuing to decline.

The report shows that:

  • Debit cards were the most used payment method, accounting for 48% of all payments.
  • The number of cash payments fell by 1.7 per cent in 2021, although it remained the second most commonly used payment method, accounting for 15% of all payments in the UK.
  • Faster Payments overtook Bacs Direct Credit as the payment method most frequently used by businesses.
  • 57 per cent of UK adults used mobile banking in 2021.
  • Almost a third of all payments in the UK were made using contactless methods in 2021.

Contactless payments – including payments initiated using contactless cards, mobile phones and watches – continue to grow in popularity. Almost a third of all payments in the UK were made via contactless methods in 2021, up 36% compared with 2020.

Contactless appears to be popular with consumers, due to the speed and security of transactions. The increase in the contactless payment limit (to £45 in April 2020 and then to £100 in October 2021) expanded the range of purchases that could be made this way. Retailers also encouraged the use of contactless during the pandemic as a way of helping to facilitate social distancing in shops. Card acceptance devices have also become more widespread in recent years, especially among smaller businesses.

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