Lloyds unveils plan to pay retailers offering cashback

Lloyds Banking Group and Visa are piloting a scheme to pay retailers that offer cashback to customers, amid fears for rural town shops that have been hit by the disappearance of ATMs in recent months.

In a bid to increase the number of outlets where people can withdraw their money, Lloyds and Visa have said today that they planning to pay retailers a fee for processing cashback transactions.

The move, which Lloyds said would "give customers more reasons to visit local shops at a time of unprecedented challenges for British high streets", will look to target rural and less affluent areas which tend to rely more heavily on a small number of ATMs.

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Such a scheme comes in the wake of growing concerns for small retailers that rely on customers using cash, rather than card, with recent data from Which? showing that some 3,000 cash machines disappeared from the UK’s high streets in the second half of 2018.

"Although digital payments continue to grow in popularity across the UK, we know that many people still rely on cash to manage their day-to-day expenditure," said Jeni Mundy, UK & Ireland managing director of Visa.

Mundy added: "This is another important measure to ensure that nobody is excluded from the financial system and underlines our commitment to working with our partners to give people a choice in how they pay – be that with cash, cards, mobile devices or other means."