The National Rural Conference 2025

Bookings are now officially open for the National Rural Conference 2025, which will take place online from Monday 15 to Thursday 18 September.
This is the Rural Services Network’s flagship event of the year, bringing together rural decision-makers, practitioners, and advocates for four days of live, interactive sessions focused on the future of rural communities.
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Which regions are most prepared to go cashless?

The latest Access to Cash Report conducted by banking services provider thinkmoney has mapped which of the UK’s regions are the most – and least – prepared to go cashless

Yahoo Finance covers the report which found that 83 per cent of the UK’s population would be able to cope in a cashless society.

Unsurprisingly, London is the most prepared for a cashless society with an 8.5 per cent drop in cash usage between 2017 and 2018. Southern regions appear better prepared than northern regions, with 7.7 and 7 per cent drops respectively.

The north west of England has seen a 3.3 per drop in cash, meaning that it would be harder hit without cash. In Northern Ireland cash withdrawals have only reduced by 2 per cent between 2017 and 2018, suggesting people living there are likely to struggle in a cashless Britain.

Yahoo Finance attributes this to the many rural communities in Northern Ireland ‘which are likely to be the worst affected if the UK stops using cash’. Less than a third of UK transactions are made with cash, and the report’s authors predict this figure will be just 10 per cent by 2026.

Full article:

Yahoo Finance - Which UK regions are prepared to go cashless?