Source · Select Committees · Scottish Affairs Committee
Recommendation 5
5
Paragraph: 36
There seems to be limited general data in relation to businesses accepting cash as a...
Conclusion
There seems to be limited general data in relation to businesses accepting cash as a means of payment. It would be helpful for us to know how much data the UK Government holds on this, particularly in the context of higher inflation and increases in the cost of living.
Paragraph Reference:
36
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
Related to this recommendation, the Committee’s report reflects on the availability of data relating to cash in Scotland. According to further information provided by LINK, as of June 2022 there were over 5,000 ATMs in Scotland and the proportion of ATMs that are free-to-use has increased in Scotland to 81%, up from 75% in January 2020. Around 96% of cash withdrawn from LINK ATMs is from free-to-use machines in terms of value, this is a similar proportion to before the pandemic and across the UK more broadly. Furthermore, LINK report that cash use in Scotland remains higher than the UK average, while their analysis shows that the proportion of people reporting that they were unable to pay in cash was similar to the UK as a whole.