According to the British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) latest payment survey, the share of cashMoney in physical form such as banknotes and coins. More payments has been falling steadily. Over the past five years, cash has dropped from over half of all transactions in 2013 to under 40% in 2018. The value of those cash transactions has fallen from 28% to 20% during the same period.
Nonetheless, cash remains an important part of retail, particularly for many vulnerable people, and the BRC is working to ensure the long-term viability of ATMs and reduce barriers that prevent many businesses from offering cashbackA service whereby the customer pays electronically a higher amount to a retailer than the value of the purchase for goods and/or services and receives the difference in cash. It is also a reward system associated with credit card usage, whereby the consumer receives a percentage of the amount spent on the credit card. More to customers.
“With card payments accounting for almost 80% of retail sales, it is vital that the Government takes action to tackle the soaring costs that card companies charge retailers. Without action we will see businesses put under further pressure and it will be consumers who are forced to pay the price.”
Andrew Cregan, Policy Advisor Payments and Consumer Credit
Card costs continue to rise as retailers spent £1.3 billion with third parties, up £70 million from 2017. Each transaction cost retailers an average of 5.85 pence per transaction, up 17% (from 4.98 pence). These additional costs are largely driven by the fees paid by businesses to credit and debit card companies, that increased by over 50% in 2018. The BRC are calling for action to improve regulation of card paymentA transfer of funds which discharges an obligation on the part of a payer vis-à-vis a payee. More fees, expanding and simplifying the regulation to cover the full range of transactions and prevent abuse by card companies.
The unit cost of debit cards is 2.8 times larger than the cost of cashAlthough banknotes are delivered to the citizens free of charge and their use does not involve a specific fee, costs are generated during their manufacturing, storage and circulation process, which are covered by different social agents (central banks, commercial banks, retailers etc). More globally.
According to a recent study by economists Santiago Carbo Valverde and Francisco Rodriguez-Fernandez analysing the cost of cash compared to debit cards across 52 countries, the unit cost of debit cards is 2.8 times larger than the cost of cash globally.