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A simple comparison of the General Election manifestos

24 Jun 2024

With less than three weeks to go until the General Election, Bira has produced a simple table comparing manifestos for Labour, Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, Green Party and Reform UK, and... Read more…

Independents Day message - supporting independent shops boosts local jobs and economies.

24 Jun 2024

With the annual Independents’ Day weekend coming up on July 6th and 7th, independent retailers have been reinforcing the message that supporting independent shops boosts... Read more…

Euro 2024 predicted to deliver multi-million-pound boost for independent retailers

24 Jun 2024

Research from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has suggested 6% of shoppers will buy a new TV or electronic device during the Euros, 4% will purchase official merchandise and nearly 10% will... Read more…

Bira leads £1 billion damages claim against Amazon by UK retailers in landmark collective action

12 Jun 2024

A £1 billion damages claim has been filed against Amazon on behalf of retailers selling on Amazon’s UK marketplace for illegally misusing their data and manipulating the Amazon Buy... Read more…

Bira responds to KPMG Retail Sales Monitor report

10 Jun 2024

The British Independent Retailers Association (Bira) has responded to the BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor for May 2024.
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Small independent Harrogate shop does it again at the national level with new awards glory

10 Jun 2024

Independent Harrogate computer shop Phase 4 Computers has been named as a finalist in the Tech Awards 2024.
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Knutsford fashion show highlights town's 'amazing independent shops'

10 Jun 2024

Independent boutiques in Knutsford have teamed up once again to showcase their new designs at the third Flash Fashion.
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Increasing numbers of UK consumers limiting their spending to goods on promotion

10 Jun 2024

Research of over 1,000 UK shoppers by Pricer shows 27% now only buy grocery items which are on offer – a +6 percentage increase compared to 2023. 
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Taunton book shop to host three talks from climate specialists ahead of election

10 Jun 2024

Independent Taunton book shop Brendon Books is to host talks from climate specialists ahead of the general election.
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Bira releases new podcast exploring accessibility on the High Street

3 Jun 2024

The British Independent Retailers Association has released the second episode of its 'High Street Matters' podcast series, this time tackling the important issue of accessibility for independent... 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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