Cash Management ___________________________________________________________________________________________
Is cash still king ?
The future of cash management for the retail industry . By Simon James
Cash in the world of retail , is , to quote a famous anchorman , kind of a big deal . So , don ’ t believe the naysayers ; cash is here to stay . Electronic payments are , of course , becoming more and more common . However , our research has shown that many companies and their customers still prefer to deal with actual cash .
The proof is unequivocal . In fact , according to the most recent research from PayComplete , 55 percent of retail organizations anticipate continuing to take payments in cash far into the future . Not only that , but the FCA has passed new legislation to protect cash access in the UK . This means that cash will remain a prominent payment method for the foreseeable future . This opportunity allows retail businesses to reconsider payment methods , save expenses , and enhance customer experience .
Managing cash ineffectively comes at a cost
One of the striking things in our research - The Cash Chasm - was that many retail establishments inefficiently handle cash . Nearly all retail stores surveyed ( 38 percent ) still handle cash by hand . Costly , yes , but it also consumes essential time . Retailers spend almost £ 333,000 on cash security annually , while businesses are losing £ 58,000 every year because of cash handling errors even with this investment . That is money that could be better used for staff training or retail upgrades .
About 36 percent of merchants are encouraging customers to use cards or contactless payments to offset these losses . However , this isn ’ t a sustainable solution . Moving people away from their preferred habits is likely to be detrimental to the customer experience , while the additional
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