Member Article

Polymer notes boost Brits confidence in cash

Advances in physical currencies have made UK consumers more confident when it comes to cash, research by Glory, a cash technology solutions provider, reveals, with 56% of UK shoppers believing the introduction of new polymer notes and the new one pound coin have made cash more secure.

Original research, which polled 1,500 shoppers in the UK, US and Australia, shows that, despite of the growing number of electronic, mobile and contactless payment options available, UK shoppers still value the role of cash in retail environments.

Of the 1,500 shoppers in the UK, US and Australia polled, 86 percent of consumers are comfortable using cash and 48 percent still use cash on a daily basis. Over half (58%) of UK consumers use cash now just as much or more than they did a year ago.

Security, convenience and choice were important factors for consumers choosing cash payment options. Only 16 percent rated any other form of payment more secure than cash and 61 percent said they trusted cash over mobile forms of payment. At the same time 55 percent reported that they don’t like handing over their cards to a cashier to make a contactless payment. On convenience, nearly two thirds say they will use whatever payment method is easiest at the time.

Sion Roberts, Executive Vice President, Global Retail, at Glory Global Solutions, said: “Cash remains a trusted payment method. It clearly has a strong place in shoppers’ hearts – and wallets – and will have for many years to come. This has important implications, as it is still being handled inefficiently and insecurely within many retail environments and this is something that needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency.”

For more information on how retailers can better optimise their retail cash chain, download the full report: http://campaigns.glory-global.com/en-gb_cash-connections

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tim Barton .