A museum in the beautiful market town of Thirsk, North Yorkshire, could be forced to close if access to cash dwindled, volunteers have warned.
The Thirsk Museum, housed in the birthplace of Thomas Lord of Lords Cricket Ground, has told the story of the area for more than 80 years.
It’s run entirely by volunteers and exists thanks to donations from visitors. However, the rise in card and contactless payments has piled pressure on this historic site.
The museum’s treasurer Lyn Taylor told GB News: “We do not charge an entrance fee; people just donate what they can.
“If cash goes, we will have to close as it isn't financially viable to get a card machine.”
Ms Taylor has noticed fewer visitors are carrying cash since the coronavirus pandemic.
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GB News visited the donation-reliant Thirsk Museum in North Yorkshire
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And despite there clearly being an appetite for using cash in the town – a local hotel has scrapped the card-only policy it brought in following the COVID-19 lockdowns – access to cash in the town is increasingly becoming a problem.
There are now just three cash machines in the area, volunteers explained.
Locals said it means accessing cash on particularly busy days can be difficult.
Ms Taylor said: “The problem is, a lot of visitors would go away and get some cash, and bring it back, but we have hardly any cash machines in Thirsk now, with the banks closing.
“They have nowhere to go particularly, to get cash. So, we are very stuck, and we do depend entirely on donations.”
In the past year, two of the four permanent bank and building society branches in Thirsk have closed.
The town’s HSBC UK branch – including the ATM - will be temporarily closing for refurbishment between May 3 and June 3. HSBC has arranged for a pop-up to help customers with service, although it can't include handling cash.
Nationwide Building Society has promised not to leave Thirsk until at least 2028, although it’s currently only open three times each week.
After Barclays closed in Thirsk last year, the bank introduced a Barclays Local – a cashless site which can help with services such as money management, bereavement and power of attorney assistance, payment and transfers, and digital advice and support.
A Post Office in the town offers a range of banking services, and it seems to be in high demand, judging by the "long queues" experienced by the volunteers.
Setting up a card machine isn’t an option for this museum, and they fear if society were to become cashless, they would have to close.
Ms Taylor explained it would be difficult for the museum to get a card reading machine due to being reliant on volunteers.
Even if they did accept cards, the volunteers are conscious the donations would be dented by card processing fees.
Janet, a museum volunteer, said: “Cash is quite an expensive commodity to deal with, people paying in and paying out, whereas with card payments it’s easier. But I don’t think a lot of people realise that even for a small card payment, there’s still a commission charge on it.”
Ms Taylor added: “The amount of money that it costs for the average small business can be quite substantial.”
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Thirsk Museum is reliant on cash donations
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To try to provide another alternative for donations, visitors can now make bank transfers into the museum’s bank account.
Fears of a cashless society still remain, though.
Ms Taylor thinks it is important younger generations proactively use cash, to avoid it being lost in the future.
She said: “To be perfectly honest, I think it’s down to the young people [to protect cash] because I think there’s so many older who still use it anyway, because it’s what we’ve always been used to and that’s what we like.
“I think the young ones find it so convenient to be on their phones. It’s so convenient that they don’t even carry a card nowadays. It’s all done on your phone.”
Jo Wade, HSBC UK’s Local Director, said: “We continue to invest in our branch network to make our customers’ experience banking with us a good one.
"We are pleased that our Thirsk branch is getting a refresh, with some painting, new signage and the installation of new state-of-the-art cash machines, which we are excited about.
“We have started talking to customers about the temporary closure, giving them plenty of notice, and while we are having the work done people can continue to use their nearest Post Office for day to day transactions, plus mobile and online banking is available 24/7 in addition to being able to call our contact centre.
"We will also be hosting Community Pop Up Events at Thirsk Town Hall on 10th , 17th and 21st May, 10am to 2pm , where we will be on hand to support customers.
"Customers can also continue to use any of our branches, but Ripon is likely to be the quickest to get to for many.”