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Web Summit: People ‘don’t need cash’, Anne Boden says

By Sunniva Kolostyak

December 03, 2020

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Society needs to embrace the cashless society as people do not need to use cash anymore, Anne Boden, CEO of Starling Bank, said at Web Summit.

Speaking at the online tech conference, Anne Boden, the CEO and Co-Founder of UK challenger Starling Bank, said the pandemic and subsequent drop in cash usage has been fantastic for digital banks.

In March, the neobank saw an initial uptick in cash withdrawals followed by a drop as people were forced to remain inside – however, it was then given a 10-year boost in the digital direction.

“People got used to it – if you haven’t spent using cash and coin for four to five months, then you decide, perhaps you don’t need to go to the ATM again. And for digital banks that is absolutely fantastic because the ATMs actually cost us money,” Boden stated.

Moreover, card spending is beneficial to both the digital bank and consumers who profit from personal finance tools and analysis.

Boden said: “I think it’s good for the economy, I think it’s good for banks, and I think it’s good for people – I think individuals don’t need to use cash, and we need to start embracing the cashless society, rather than being very glum about the fact that ATMs are closing.”

She added that it is important to talk about the parts of society that are still reliant on cash, particularly vulnerable and older age groups.

“But let’s be very straightforward about this. People are now using iPads and FaceTime, and they could also use Apple Pay.”

As a result, society should be working on providing internet access to everyone, alongside the training and support needed to enable vulnerable groups to use internet to communicate with healthcare professionals, carers, support services or family.

“Having internet access, having broadband access should be a right,” Boden continued. “And so there’s lots we need to do to make sure people can use digital banking services, not just try and protect cash.”

During her session, Boden also found time to comment on incumbent banks’ motives for protecting cash. She said: “I think the big banks are trying to protect cash because they try to protect their branches, and everybody knows that the big banks don’t know what to do with all those branches. They tried to turn them into coffee shops. They tried to turn them into drop-in office spaces. They have to face up and figure out what they’re going to do with it.”

Starling Bank recently became the first retail challenger bank to break even and is on track to become profitable by the end of the year.

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