Only 3 per cent of UK adults have become completely ‘cashless’ — never using banknotes or coins for payments.
Yet, some 5,000 bank branches have disappeared from our High Street over the past eight years, with more scheduled to close.
In addition, more than 15,000 cashpoints have gone in the past five years.
Banks claim the closures are due to a change in habits, with more people preferring to do their banking online and going cashless.
Yet findings by market researcher YouGov show that 97 per cent of us still take out cash for transactions, and 71 per cent want tough rules to stop banks from fleeing the High Street.
Crucial service: But more than 15,000 cashpoints have gone in the past five years as more people go cashless
The Government has agreed to provide customers with free access to cash, though the rules have yet to be introduced.
Critics fear this has fuelled branch closures.
Action group Cash Access UK has been set up to ensure abandoned communities are provided with banking hubs, where representatives of different High Street banks support the community various days of the week.
Despite a recommendation that 100 banking hubs should open, only five have so far seen the light of day.
Five million people rely on cash for day-to-day budgeting, while two million households have no access to the internet.
