The opinions expressed here are those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of UK Finance or its members.

Most of us wave a card or phone in the vague direction of the card reader, wait for it to ping up with an authorisation, and then go on our way.

There may well have been a little sign written in chalk by the till saying what payments were accepted, but most people simply trust that their payment will work and don’t give it much thought. Nor should they.  

New research we have conducted among small and medium sized businesses suggests that they are giving the question a lot of thought. It also suggests they are moving fast. The signs which say “card only” or “cashless” are becoming more and more frequent: 1 in 7 retailers in small and medium sized shops have gone cashless in the last year. 

A group of MPs flagged this risk last year. They said we risk a “two-tier economy” if the millions of people who rely on cash can’t buy basics. They also said the data underlying this question is patchy and needs to be updated. That’s why LINK’s Consumer Council surveyed 1,100 small retailers across the UK to understand their approach. 

And while it is undoubtedly true that retailers are shifting their practices alongside their customers, 77% of these businesses still take cash and 46% of their in-person transactions are in cash. 

Running throughout the survey, there is a continued commitment to cash on the high street. Retailers value it not based on nostalgia or lazy assumptions, but because it offers choice to their customers, resilience in case of technical failure, and its impact on the local economy. Almost half of them actively encourage cash payment. 

When they do choose to go cashless, businesses are weighing up the costs of managing their banking, convenience to their customers, the risks of fraud and crime, and what infrastructure they have available locally. 

As an industry, it’s incumbent on us to make sure that businesses can make a choice that works for them and works for consumers, as technology marches on rapidly. We cannot afford an economy where people are excluded from paying for basics.  

LINK will continue to assess local cash access for businesses as well as consumers, and make sure that the overwhelming majority can manage their cash on their local high street. We will also continue to monitor the rates of cash acceptance on the high street so that policy can join up effectively – be that on banking, crime or business support. The National Payments Vision also presents the opportunity to ensure the payments system supports businesses making these decisions. 

In the meantime, when you see a sign saying “card only”, or indeed “cash only”, it’s worth taking a moment to think about the factors the business weighed up before putting it next to their till.