RETAILERS ARE LOSING ALMOST £8 BILLION PER YEAR BY FAILING TO ACCEPT CASH PAYMENTS FOR ONLINE TRANSACTIONS

This would represent an increase of at least 43% on the current level of online sales of £18.3 billion (i), which translates into a significant amount of lost business to individual retailers. The table below shows a number of retailers who, in our judgement, are most likely to benefit from accepting cash online.

Most recent reported annual online sales; Potential additional annual online sales

1. Tesco £719m; £309m
2. Screwfix £229m; £99m
3. Dabs.com £197m; £85m
4. Dixons £170m; £73m
5. Argos £169m; £73m
6. Carphone Warehouse £65m; £28m
7. Figleaves.com £12.2m; £5.2m
8. Asos £7.5m; £3.2m
9. WH Smith Online £7m; £3m
10. Firebox.com £4.4m; £1.9m

Hans Olav Hagen, managing director of Ukash, said: “It’s an indisputable fact that a large number of sales are being missed by retailers. It would be unthinkable for a high street store to only accept payment cards, but it seems that retailers have accepted it online, believing there are no cash alternatives for their online stores. This situation needs addressing because they are throwing away billions of pounds in potential sales.”

What is increasingly being overlooked is that cash remains the major form of payment in the retail industry - especially for lower value transactions. Over 40% of UK consumer spending is cash (ii), and yet online retailers are currently ignoring this significant market. These potential online cash buyers are made up of a combination of the ‘digitally excluded’, which includes the 16 per cent of adults that do not own a payment card, and the millions of consumers that own a card but prefer not to use it. This could be as a result of concerns over online security, identity theft, or where there is a preference from the buyer to purchase goods without the transactions showing on a card statement.

(i) Source: NOP
(ii) Source : APACS


Notes to editors:

About Ukash:
Ukash is a new e-commerce payment brand for the cash consumer. It is similar to the mobile phone ‘top-up’ market whereby it allows cash payments for electronic value. Ukash is a way for consumers to spend online without using a credit or debit card. Consumers can buy Ukash at 12,500 PayPoint terminals located in shops throughout the UK and each purchase is associated with a unique Ukash number. By entering the unique 19-digit Ukash number when asked to pay online, the purchase is completed and any change is given in the form of another unique Ukash number. Spending Ukash is very similar to using cash in the real world as it requires no registration. The company is negotiating with major online retailers to ensure Ukash becomes as popular a method of payment on the internet as cash is in the physical world.

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For further information please contact:

Hans Olav Hagen, managing director +44 20 8820 0790 / +33 608 869 541 / hans.hagen@ukash.com

Registered office: Universal e-Cash limited, 7 Canalside, Clarence Mill, Bollington, Cheshire SK10 5JZ, United Kingdom