Going digital: South East has the lowest reliance on local banks

The research also looked at regional differences around the country, and found that some areas have experienced the loss of more banks than others. Business leaders’ usage of banks also varied regionally, with some areas relying more heavily on their banks and making more frequent visits.

The South East was an outlier in that businesses here seemed to have the least reliance on banks.

Business leaders here were the most likely to go card-only, at 35%, which is significantly higher than the national average of 21%.

74% of respondents said their business never goes to the bank to collect change, and 73% said it never runs out of change.

Across the whole UK, 47% said they never run out of change to give to customers, which is 26% less than the South East.