Cash makes up less than 25% of on-trade payments

By Rebecca Weller

- Last updated on GMT

Cash or card: cash payments account for less than 25% of transactions in the majority of pubs (Credit: Getty/praetorianphoto)
Cash or card: cash payments account for less than 25% of transactions in the majority of pubs (Credit: Getty/praetorianphoto)

Related tags Finance Technology Barclaycard Post office

Cash payments account for less than 25% of transactions in the majority of pubs despite a recent boom in consumer use of physical money.

A recent poll conducted by the Morning Advertiser (MA)​ found of the 97 respondents 54 (56%) stated cash accounted for less than 25% of transactions in their pubs, while 21% (20) stated it made up 35% of payments with 7% having said between 50% and 75% of trade was paid for with cash.

Furthermore, the MA​ poll showed just 4% of trade was 100% cash.

Secure and convenient 

This comes as figures from the Post Office​ earlier this week revealed the company handled a record £801m in personal cash withdrawals.

Additionally, more than £3.3bn cash was deposited and withdrawn over Post Office counter’s in July, as the company’s research found consumers had started turning to physical currency in a bid to manage household and holiday budgets.

Post Office banking director Martin Kearsley said: “Our latest figures clearly show Britain is anything but a cashless society.

“Postmasters handling more than £3.3bn in a single month demonstrates just how vital being able to deposit and withdraw cash, securely and conveniently, is for millions of people.”

However, data from Barclaycard showed card spending in bars, pubs, and nightclubs had seen an increase of 48.2% in July 2022 compared with the same period in 2019, with year-on-year growth hitting 19.2% in June and 21.8% in July.

Boost sales

Barclaycard​ Payments managing director Kirsty Morris said: “Over recent years we have seen a shift away from cash towards card, contactless and mobile payments, which accounts for some of the growth we are seeing.

“These payment types not only benefit consumers by removing the need to handle cash or enter a pin code, but also save bar staff time at the point of sale.

“Our data shows contactless saves 15 seconds per transaction and Chip & Pin 7 seconds, when compared to cash, which can go some way to help the hospitality sector boost sales during busy periods.”

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