PayPoint has announced the national roll-out of its Counter Cash service, which will enable anyone to withdraw specific denominations of cash from £0.01 to £50, from participating PayPoint retailer partners.

Key areas with low cash access and no free to use ATMs were identified which will be prioritised in the national roll-out. Retailers in these areas have been approached to take part in the service on an opt-out basis.

Participating retailers in the scheme will enjoy benefits such as:

• Earning commission on every transaction they process – including withdrawals and balance enquiries
• Save on banking charges by recycling cash they take in for PayPoint services
• Offering a vital, high profile service to their local community

Retailers will receive the majority of the remuneration for this service, with 13p paid for every withdrawal and 8p for each balance enquiry.

In research by PayPoint analysing the cash reliant areas of the UK, looking at cash as an overall percentage of transactions in a sample of 28,000 UK stores.

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Of the 48 UK counties included in the study, 43 had an overall cash reliance score of over 50%, emphasising the need for cash by millions of people. The study also revealed that 21% of people across the UK still use an ATM two to three times a week.

Counties in the north were found to be more cash reliant, with Lanarkshire in Scotland and the West Midlands having 64% reliance score.

More than 67% of all purchases using PayPoint’s network were made in cash. 62% of people in Wales, 64% in England and 67% in Scotland believe more should be done to protect cash.

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PayPoint Counter Cash trial participant Imran Hamid, local shop owner, Dennyloanhead, Scotland emphasised the importance of access to cash where he lives.

“We’ve also got people who are on benefits here and they want access to their cash. That’s another good thing about this – they can withdraw anything from a penny to £50. If someone on benefits has only got £3.50 left in their bank account and they want that £3.50, I can give it to them and it’s not going to cost them anything.” he said.

Nick Wiles, chief executive of PayPoint, said: “Bank branches and ATMs have been disappearing at an alarming rate over the last few years and the UK’s rapid growth in digital payments, across every corner of the economy, has left millions of people who use cash every day at risk of being left behind.

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“Today PayPoint is laying out its long-term commitment to do everything it can to ensure easy, free cash access, working with partners across industry and government, ahead of the official launch of PayPoint Counter Cash on November 1^st.  The service will not only enable people to make exact withdrawals, down to a single penny, unlike an ATM but will also be completely free to customers and profitable to the retailers that offer it.”