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Cautious consumers turn back to cash
21/04/2008 09:40:00
Consumers who are increasingly worried about spending money on credit are turning to cash as their main method of payment, according to new research.
Findings from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) showed that up to 60 per cent of spenders prefer to use cash, compared with 54 per cent from last year.
When measured by value, cash is used for 34 per cent of retail spending compared with 32 per cent from 2007, reveals the study.
Stephen Robertson, general director for the BRC, said that reports of the death of cash are premature.
"While total retail spending continues to grow, there is a widening gap between the amount spent in cash and the amount spent using cards, suggesting customers want to keep tight control of their finances," he said.
Meanwhile, the survey also revealed that a retailer is charged two pence for processing a cash transaction while the charge for a credit card is 34 pence and, for a debit card, eight pence.
According to the BRC, these costs are too high for retailers to absorb and are inevitably passed on to customers in the form of higher prices.
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