Cashless/Homeless
Exploring the Impact of the Cashless Economy on the Lives of People Experiencing Homelessness in the UK
In January 2019, Eclipse Experience launched a self-initiated research project called Cashless/Homeless to explore how the growing cashless economy is affecting people experiencing homelessness in the UK.
The first phase of this project was carried out in collaboration with Inspiring Change Manchester, a Shelter-led programme funded by The Big Lottery.
Scroll down to read more about the issue, our approach and what we learned.
Ensuring that going cashless does not mean going homeless for anyone in our society will require innovative solutions, both digital and service-based. But to be truly impactful, these solutions need to be built around the needs and experiences of the people most adversely affected by the cashless economy - and with their direct involvement. Otherwise, they risk being misaligned with the needs of their users and even pose safeguarding risks when designed without the appropriate consideration for the lived experiences of the people they’re meant to support.
Cashless economy is growing quicker than many of us can adjust to it. Along with exciting opportunities for innovation, this rapid growth carries real risks of exclusion and marginalisation. These risks are particularly serious for people who already experience a measure of financial, digital and/or social exclusion, such as the unbanked, people with physical and cognitive disabilities, people with mental health issues, and those living in rural or remote communities. People who are homeless or are at risk of becoming homeless are among the most affected.
What we did:
We ran Cashless/Homeless as a rapid discovery research project, iterating our approach at different stages.
The research included three main phases:
Rapid desk review of existing literature on the topic to define the focus of the project;
Three semi-structured expert interviews with staff from Inspiring Change Manchester and The Big Issue to complement desk review findings and inform the design of in-context research methodology;
Six in-context interviews with Inspiring Change Manchester clients and staff who had lived experience of homelessness.
We iterated the scope of this research several times based on desk review and expert interviews. Read our mindset articles to learn how our thinking about Cashless/Homeless evolved over time :
The other side of the virtual coin: does cashless economy exacerbate homelessness?
Direct donations in a cashless economy: few answers, many questions
There are no purely cashless lives.
People’s choice of payment method is informed by what they’re used to.
People’s choice of payment method is informed by perception of safety.
People’s choice of payment method is informed by approach to money management.
Access to identification and an address is the foundation for transition to cashless.
External support with financial and digital literacy is crucial for transition to cashless.
Cash is a lifeline for people living on the streets.
Going cashless may help people transition out of homelessness.
Note: Due to the limited scope of this self-initiated project and the size of the sample, the insights and implications detailed below are indicative in nature and may not be representative of experiences of the wider population.
