Perils of cashless.

Good morning. Welcome back to Survival Guide. I’m Isabella McRae, a senior reporter here at the Big Issue, and this is our weekly cost of living newsletter.

Do you use cash? More and more, signs are popping up in shops and restaurants warning: CARD ONLY, NO CASH ACCEPTED. Those signs are shutting out some of the most vulnerable people in the country.

I chatted to experts about who could be left behind if society continues to become increasingly cashless, and what policymakers should do about it, and you can read more about it later in this newsletter.

Also this week, we meet Charlotte who shares her heartbreaking story about taking out a loan to pay for her father’s funeral – a decision which left her facing debt for years. Payday loans are designed to help people cope with small, unplanned payments quickly. But they can be dangerous, with high interest rates which plunge people into debt.

Charlotte tells her story to raise awareness and warn others of the dangers.

If you’ve got a story to share, we want to listen. Get in touch at isabella.mcrae@bigissue.com or share your story here.

Charlotte's story: 'It felt like a punishment'

When Charlotte Liddell’s dad died, she was devastated. Just two days later, she got the bill.

“I had no understanding of how much a funeral would cost, at all,” Charlotte says. “Not even a rough estimate. So to have that sudden cost, that was so so stressful.”

Aged 25, she had just 24 hours to come up with £1,518. She had £450 in the bank, savings she’d hoped to use to buy her first car. Liddell’s younger brother contributed everything he had – some £68 – but they were still a grand short. She knew she’d have to get a loan.

“But my credit score wasn’t good,” Charlotte explains. “I was very limited in what I could apply for. I applied for as much as I could, and I couldn’t even consider the interest. I had 12 hours at that point to pay the funeral place.”

It would take Charlotte years to pay off the loan, which had an APR (annual percentage rate) of 40%. The monthly fee served as a constant reminder of one of the most upsetting periods in her family’s lives. 

“It took a toll on my finances, but more mentally. It felt like a punishment,” she said. “I was having to pay this company so much interest, because they helped me when dad died.”

Charlotte is now taking part in a powerful new project to raise awareness and help others.

Read Charlotte’s story here.

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UK risks 'sleepwalking into crisis' as cashless society shuts out more and more vulnerable people

Most of us walk into a shop that doesn’t accept cash without a second thought – we don’t carry cash anyway. But for some people, particularly vulnerable people, this cashless space shuts them out. It is another place they are made to feel unwelcome.

People facing homelessness and poverty, people with learning disabilities, domestic violence victims, the elderly and young people are among those most at risk of being left behind in this increasingly cashless society, according to a recent report from MPs in the Treasury Committee.

It warns that the UK is in danger of “sleepwalking into a situation where cash is no longer widely accepted” unless the Treasury acts to investigate this and ensure more businesses offer alternative payment options.

Get the full story.

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Big Issue Team