Recommendation 8

The Treasury informed us that a lot of work had been commissioned, from both government and outside government, to understand how rapid changes in the cash system were impacting on those still reliant on cash. This work indicated that 2 million people are mostly using cash for their payment needs and that it is the elderly and disadvantaged who tend to be disproportionately reliant on cash.19 Research commissioned by the PSR suggested that around 30% of people have quite a strong preference to use cash, with 5 10 Q 65; C&AG’s Report, para 17 and Figure 4 11 Q 49; C&AG’s Report, para 15 12 Qq 48, 70; C&AG’s Report, Figure 4 13 Q 58 14 Financial Conduct Authority, Finalised Guidance: Branch and ATM closures or conversions, FG 20/3, September 2020 15 Qq 72 16 Qq 72,111; HM Treasury, Access to Cash: Call for Evidence, October 2020, para 5.3 17 Q 80 18 Q109 19 Qq 38–39 10 The production and distribution of cash to 10% at risk of being significantly disadvantaged if cash were to disappear.20 The FCA, however, has only recently commissioned research into the ability of SMEs to access bank deposit services, and SMEs’ acceptance of cash. The FCA told us that this work is not expected to be completed until early 2021.21