Is click and collect money the answer to Britain’s cash crisis?

Most pizza delivery firms offer an array of extras, from tubs of ice cream to bottles of fizzy drink. But another, more unexpected, side order could soon be offered: cash. 

A lack of access to cash is an escalating crisis in the UK. As bank branches and ATMs close down every day, many communities are increasingly left struggling to get hold of coins and bank notes. 

An average of 55 bank branches have shut their doors every month in the past five years, research by consumer group Which? suggests. As many as 13,000 ATMs have disappeared in just three years. 

In the bag:  Food deliveries can also bring cash ordered on the app,right

But in Switzerland – where access to cash is a similar challenge – an innovative solution has been found, and it is set to be trialled in the UK from next month. 

Switzerland’s biggest cash distribution network is not a bank or a building society. It is a group of 2,300 retailers, restaurants and food takeaway companies that offer a ‘click and collect’ service for cash. 

A company called Sonect provides an online map showing all the firms that have cash that they are happy for people to collect. Someone in need of cash just has to pick a nearby firm on the map, type in how much money they would like, and then the cash is guaranteed to be available for them to collect for the next 15 minutes. Cash can be picked up without making a purchase. 

Some food delivery firms have joined the scheme, meaning cash can be delivered direct to customers’ doors with their order. In this case a purchase is required. 

Sonect is available in Switzerland and Italy and is being trialled in Sweden. But from next month, it will be tested in Burslem, Staffordshire, as part of Community Access to Cash Pilot, a project to trial new ways of delivering banking and cash services on the high street. 

More traditional solutions, such as updated post offices and banking hubs, are being tested alongside newer innovations such as that offered by Sonect. Remedies that prove successful could be rolled out more widely across the UK. 

Action cannot come soon enough. The Mail on Sunday has long campaigned for a bank and free-to-use ATM in every town. A lack of access to cash hits two million Britons who still rely on coins and notes – with the elderly, disabled and those in rural areas most affected. 

Yet even so, the rate of bank and ATM closures has gained pace during recent lockdowns, raising fears the country is sleepwalking into a cashless society. 

The Financial Conduct Authority has called on banks to pause or delay branch closures during lockdown, especially where there could be a ‘significant impact on vulnerable customers’. 

But Barclays, Lloyds and TSB last month confirmed to The Mail on Sunday their plans to shut more than 160 branches between them in the first three months of the year. This will not change as a result of the regulator’s appeal. Meanwhile, in the Budget last year, the Government committed to legislation to safeguard cash. Yet, almost a year on, none has been forthcoming. 

Natalie Ceeney, who chaired the Government’s Access to Cash Review, is overseeing the Community Access to Cash Pilot. She has led the way in highlighting the demise of cash on high streets and warns ‘time is running out’ to find ways to keep cash sustainable. 

She says: ‘It’s hugely urgent. Bluntly, the existing cash infrastructure is crumbling before our very eyes.’ 

Ceeney says innovation, such as that offered by Sonect, could be a crucial component. She adds: ‘We need to find sustainable, innovative business models and technology to keep cash viable in communities. 

‘Sonect is one of these innovative ideas. Cashback will be key to keeping cash sustainable, so we are trialling three types in the pilot.’

However, she adds a note of caution, saying: ‘Sonect is great, but uses an app, so it may not work for those who are not digitally-savvy. That’s why we need a range of solutions to suit everyone.’ 

Ron Delnevo, UK director of Sonect, points to similarities between the app-based service and the cashback service that has been available in the UK for more than 30 years. But a few key differences mean it could take off where cashback has dwindled. Delnevo says: ‘Cashback is a vague service. Members of the public are often not aware if a retailer offers it or how much cash they can ask for. They also don’t feel comfortable requesting cash without buying something. 

‘When something is uncertain or confusing it tends not to be well used. Sonect removes the uncertainty. When you pick up cash using Sonect you know they are expecting you and the cash you requested is guaranteed to be waiting.’ 

Delnevo adds that in time British banks could incorporate the Sonect functionality into their apps. 

That way, bank customers who are happy to bank online could find and preorder cash nearby using an app they have already downloaded and feel comfortable using. Simon Wood is the commercial director of Loomis UK, the cash handling provider that is partnering with Sonect to trial ‘click and collect’ cash in the UK. 

He believes that Sonect will prove popular among retailers because it is likely to save them time and therefore money. 

‘Retailers end up with cash in the till that they have to sort, arrange to be picked up, or take to the bank to deposit,’ he says. ‘As banks close, retailers have to travel even further to get to their nearest branch. 

‘If people who need cash take it off their hands instead, retailers spend less time and money sorting their cash and it is recycled into the local economy instead.’  

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk