One in four Britons feel digitally excluded, writes ADRIAN ROBERTS – and it’s a surprising age group driving it…

The shift to digital in recent years has made life easier for many people, whether being able to quickly make payments online or book an appointment. 

But one in four Britons feel they are digitally excluded in some form, research from the UK’s cash access and ATM network Link shows.

Adrian Roberts, chief executive of Link, asks whether the UK is really ready to go full digital with everything from car parks to banking…

Let’s start with a question. How many of the tasks that you typically complete on a regular basis are now done digitally? 

Perhaps not exclusively, but do you tend to pay by cash or card? Do you go to the supermarket or do you shop online?

These are only a couple of examples that demonstrate how much things have changed over recent years. 

Much of this change has been positive and provided huge convenience. Renewing passports, signing legal documents or even navigating a journey in the car have all become far easier and quicker.

Payments and banking are good examples. In 2008, more than six-in-ten transactions were made in cash. Today it’s closer to one-in-ten. 

There’s real benefits in being able to pay for things online, through contactless cards and increasingly through digital wallets and much of this innovation has been driven by consumer demand.

Cash use is an interesting case study. Our data consistently shows that people who rely on cash, live in the most deprived parts of the country. But what’s more, they are also more likely to be digitally excluded – either through affordability, connectivity or ability to use the technology.

This highlights a key challenge for the country. While a lot of good work continues to be done to protect access to cash through new innovations such as Cash Access UK’s shared banking hubs, we now need to be asking whether we are doing enough to help people to use digital services. 

And it isn’t just about access to banking, it is also an ability to connect with people and participate in society and the economy. People like and choose to pay in cash, but if they are given the right access and tools, many will feel confident to use alternatives.

It’s why we’ve recently published a new report called ‘Is the UK really ready to go digital?’ to understand the issues and to highlight the learnings from some work we undertook in Wales to support people become more digitally capable.

Some of the research highlights may come as a surprise. Not only do almost one-in-four (24 per cent) UK adults consider themselves to be digitally excluded in some form, it is highest among 18-24 year olds (42 per cent) followed by those aged 75 and over (30%). 

This may appear counter-intuitive, but a key driver is the lack of access to reliable broadband and internet enabled devices that drives much of this exclusion. The group with the highest levels of digital exclusion were households with an income of under £10,000 (44 per cent).

If more services become digital first or indeed, digital only, are we comfortable that a considerable proportion of the population, often the most vulnerable, are left behind or at the very least, left with a more expensive or inferior service? 

Parking apps cause great frustration for some, but what if people believe it’s no longer worth the journey into town? Or if GP surgeries only offer online appointment booking, will people stop visiting their doctor?

Some households are cancelling broadband 

In the Rhonda, in South Wales, over the course of a year, we set out to understand whether small, local interventions can make a difference. Rhonda has some of the highest levels of deprivation in Wales. 

While across the UK we are seeing higher levels of digital inclusion, in Rhonda, there’s evidence to show it’s going backwards – especially with many households cancelling broadband contracts during the cost of living crisis. 

The support, overseen by the LINK consumer council, was provided by trainers through one-on-one and group sessions providing free SIMs or loans of laptops and tablets where needed to groups ranging from young adults to care home residents. 

Some of the individual results have been hugely positive with the biggest outcome that more people are able and confident to complete key life activities online.

There are some clear learnings from the research and the pilot. Firstly, we must acknowledge that digital exclusion will always be with us to some degree. However, there are steps that we can take to reduce it. 

Better broadband to poorly connected areas is of course integral. But also, the exclusive ‘digital by design’ strategies for essential products and services like banking and healthcare have to stop where there isn’t an alternative for those who can’t use them. 

A more joined up approach between communities and businesses could also make a real impact at a local level to improve skills on the ground. That’s not only recycling old technology for reuse, but also community led interventions on the ground.

The good news is that there is evidence that most of us want to support both. Digital and traditional. If we can get the balance right, it could result in higher levels of inclusion, socially and economically and really help people and communities to thrive.