More than 5,000 bank and building society branches have closed since 2015 , says Which?

Rocio Concha, Which? director of policy and advocacy, said there remained a “significant minority” of consumers for whom cash is still vital. The consumer group counted 5,162 bank and building society branches which have closed since January 2015. A further 206 branches are set to close by the end of 2023, according to the Which? findings, as of mid-December 2022.

The Government has said it will legislate to protect the future of cash. While some shops are still “cash only”, people may find they cannot use cash at all in some other places.

ATM network Link recently found that nearly half (45 per cent) of people have been somewhere where cash has not been accepted, or has been discouraged. Graham Mott, director of strategy at Link, said: “Despite all the talk about the death of cash, I think it is worth reminding ourselves of how important cash is. Compared to 2021, the number of transactions this year is up around 5 per cent. Year-on-year we’re also seeing people take out more cash when they visit cash machines.

“To date, around £80bn has been withdrawn from Link machines this year, and next year we are only expecting a small reduction of 3 per cent to 5 per cent on 2020’s figures.”

The Post Office has an agreement with many banks which allows people to do their everyday banking over its counters.

Ross Borkett, head of banking at the Post Office, said: “Post Office data shows many more families on low incomes are turning to cash to budget in light of cost-of-living increases and the added financial pressures in the run-up to Christmas. It also remains critical that local businesses can deposit their takings easily in their local branch to maximise the time they can spend trading during these challenging times.”

Initiatives such as cashback in shops without the need to make a purchase and banking hubs – whereby several banks share the same space – have also been launched to help fill gaps in the cash system.

Natalie Ceeney, chair, Cash Action Group, said: “Over the next 12 months we will be opening a lot more banking hubs. We expect our services to be supporting hundreds of communities within the next few years.”

Trade association UK Finance’s figures show that 1.1m people mainly use cash when doing their day-to-day shopping. A UK Finance spokesperson said: “The overall number of cash payments decreased by 1.7 per cent last year and we expect cash usage to continue to fall, with cash forecast to account for 6 per cent of all payments made in the UK by 2031. The banking and finance industry is committed to preserving access to cash for those who need it, including through banking hubs, free ATMs, enhanced Post Office services and cashback without purchase.”

Regarding bank branch closures, the spokesperson said: “While many customers are opting to use mobile and online banking to manage their money, the banking industry is committed to ensuring that people can do their banking face-to-face too. Whenever a bank branch closes, Link independently assesses the local community’s cash access needs and will commission any new services required, which can include a banking hub.”