Cash when it counts: Post Office urges high street retailers to prepare for outages to keep options open for customers

• New research reveals that digital payment outages cost high street retailers an average of £255 every hour an outage lastsas around one in four are forced to turn customers away.
• As the Government launches ‘Be Ready’, encouraging households to keep cash and essential supplies at home in case of emergencies, retailers are also being urged to ensure they can continue trading when digital payments are interrupted.
• Despite over four in five high street retailers (81%) saying it is important to keep cash payments available for customers and emergencies, 90% don’t include accepting cash in their contingency plans.
• Nearly a third of UK adults (29%) have been unable to pay at a store checkout in the past year because a retailer did not accept a payment method they could use. Among those affected, over one in five (21%) said the retailer did not accept cash.
• Post Office launches new guidance, calling on retailers to consider cash acceptance policies so customers can pay in the way that works for them, while safeguarding businesses in emergencies and when digital payments fail.

Digital payment outages are costing high street retailers on average £255 every hour an outage lasts as nearly a quarter (24%) report having to turn customers away, delay or pause transactions, or close due to not being able to serve a customer at all (22%), new research commissioned by Post Office finds.

UK retailers surveyed reported an average of three payment disruptions in the last year, and the frequency of these events is predicted to grow. While nearly a third of UK adults (29%) admit they have been unable to pay at a store checkout in the past year because a retailer did not accept a payment method they could use. Among those affected, over one in five (21%) said the retailer did not accept cash.

As the Government’s recent ‘Be Ready’campaign encourages households to keep cash and essential supplies for emergencies, Post Office has issued guidance calling on retailers to consider reviewing their own contingency plans and ensure they can continue accepting cash when digital payments are unavailable.

While 83% of businesses surveyed have a written or agreed contingency plan, 90% don’t include accepting cash as a back-up, despite 81% agreeing that keeping cash available for customers and emergencies is important.

Cash helps businesses remain operational during disruptions, with two-thirds (69%) being able to continue serving customers during digital payment outages. However, with only 32% of high street retailers surveyed saying they currently accept cash, the research reveals a potential resilience gap if digital payments fail.

Ben Hunter Woollard, Head of Banking at Post Office, said:

“A payment outage can disrupt trading in seconds, resulting in customers being turned away and sales lost. Cash has helped many retailers continue trading during recent disruptions, but it is rarely included in formal contingency plans. With the Government encouraging households to keep some cash available for emergencies, retailers should also consider how they will keep serving customers if digital payments go down in emergencies. If cash usage is being encouraged, so should its acceptance.

“Our new guidance gives retailers practical steps to communicate clearly with customers and build a plan that works for their business.

Shoppers need payment choice everyday and not just in an emergency

Although outages highlight gaps in acceptance, cash still remains an important everyday payment option for many consumers, supporting cash-only transactions that contribute £27bn to the UK economy.

While contactless cards are now the most commonly preferred payment method, cash is the number one choice for over a fifth (22%) of consumers and used by more than half of the nation (58%) for everyday purchases. This shows that cash is not only relevant when systems fail - it remains part of how many people manage day-to-day spending. For retailers, this means cash acceptance policies must factor daily customer-choice as well as resilience.

Among UK adults who have been unable to pay at a store checkout in the past year, 21% said this was because the business did not accept cash. For 68% of those affected, being unable to pay happened on more than two occasions.

Only 28% of high street retailers say community needs and customer payment preferences influence their decisions about which payment methods they offer. Not considering how customers in the local community prefer to pay could mean losing sales.

New guidelines for retailers

To support business resilience, Post Office has published new guidance to help retailers plan for payment disruptions, meet local customer needs and clearly communicate payment options.

Ed Woodall, Chief Executive Association of Convenience Stores, said:

“Cash remains an important payment method for customers in convenience stores, with 99% of convenience retailers accepting cash. When people lose access to other payment methods through outages or issues with networks, cash is a crucial safety net that allows businesses to continue trading and serving their communities.”

Being at the heart of local communities, postmasters also see first-hand how businesses and customers are using cash day to day.

Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive at British Retail Consortium, said:

"Retailers accept a range of payment methods, guided by their customers’ needs. They recognise the importance of cash both as a budgeting tool for managing day-to-day spending and as a reliable option when digital payments are disrupted. While businesses remain free to decide which payment methods they accept, cash remains a viable option to support consumer choice and business resilience."

Melissa Samuel, postmistress at Bourton-on-the-Water Post Office, said:

“As postmistress in Bourton-on-the-Water, I see first-hand how important cash continues to be to our local community. We have local businesses regularly coming into the Post Office to deposit their cash takings, but just as importantly, they also use our change-giving service, so they have the notes and coins they need to serve their customers.

“Having local access to cash for business and customers becomes even more important when digital payments are disrupted. When card terminals are down, we see customers come into our branch to withdraw cash, often after being directed here by a local business, so they can go back and complete their purchase. It is a reminder that cash helps keep shops trading when other payment options are temporarily unavailable.”

Notes to editors

Consumer survey source: Consumer research conducted by Censuswide among 2,000 UK respondents (18+) and 500 high street retailers between 06.10.2026 – 14.10.2026. Censuswide is a member of the Market Research Society (MRS) and the British Polling Council (BPC), and a signatory of the Global Data Quality Pledge. We adhere to the MRS Code of Conduct and ESOMAR principles.

Economic data source: Cash expenditure modelling was undertaken by Cebr, drawing on survey data from a nationally representative sample of 2,000 UK adults, with fieldwork conducted by Opinium in September 2025. From survey responses, weighted averages were constructed for the number of cash transactions, total cash spending and the share of spending for which cash was the only accepted payment option. These indicators were assessed specifically across 8 mutually exclusive, collectively exhaustive spending sectors on a monthly basis. Weighted average cash spending was then aggregated up to total annual expenditure across the UK adult population (per ONS data), with GVA contributions derived from this using sector-specific ratios sourced from ONS national accounts data.