May 2014
Featured in this insight: Financial services, Retail
Survey: Cash payments cost UK retailers billions each year: UK retailers are spending approximately £17.8 billion a year on processing cash payments. As a result, these businesses are looking to cut costs by embracing a wider range of payment options, moving Britain towards a ‘cashless’ future.
The Payments Landscape Benchmark, compiled by Sage Pay, surveyed 1,124 business leaders. It found that the average cost of handling cash has reach £3,638.75 per retailer, as businesses shoulder security costs, and lose money on counterfeit notes and theft. Some fifty-two per cent of respondents said that cash carried the most accounting inaccuracies of all the payment methods.
Furthermore, cash has lost is standing among customers, with a third (36%) of the 1,042 consumers polled saying that they are more likely to shop with retailers that offer a range of payment methods. It was also noted that a further third (31%) would put back items if their preferred method of payment is not accepted.
Simon Black, the chief executive of Sage Pay, said:
“We’re living through a payments revolution... Just as many find cheques alien now, for the next generation, the notion of cash will seem strange.”
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