Asda has revealed plans to convert more than 80 of its drive-thru fuel forecourts to card only, and some of them are in Lancashire.

These sites will be unmanned and staff will be redeployed into Asda stores, due to the overwhelming majority of customers paying by card.

The supermarket chain plans to introduce these changes to three forecourts in Lancashire, including one in Colne, at Asda Colne Superstore in Corporation Street, as well as in Skelmersdale and Fleetwood.

The change does not affect Asda stores, which will continue to accept cash as normal.

A spokesperson for Asda said it has around 300 forecourts attached to Asda superstores and says more than half of these sites are already unmanned.

There are 82 sites that have drive-thru payment kiosks at superstores. Of these, 14 have already been converted to cash free sites since December last year.

The company maintains more than 90 per cent of all payments on its superstore forecourts are made via card or a contactless device, so the colleagues who worked on these sites are moving into the store so they can better serve customers.

All Asda workers at the sites are set to be redeployed by this summer.

An Asda spokesperson said: “This change only affects 82 drive thru fuel stations attached to Asda superstores.

"All Asda stores will continue to accept both cash and card payments as normal.”

As cash use continues to decline, the number of ATMs has fallen, Link, the UK’s main ATM network, said.

By the end of 2023, Link counted 38,480 free-to-use machines, down from 40,869 at the end of 2022.

There were also 9,921 charging ATMs in December 2023, down from 10,384 a year earlier.

In an average week in 2023, £1.5 billion was withdrawn from UK cash machines, Link said.

Graham Mott, director of strategy at Link said: “The good news is that there is now a law to protect access to cash.

"Alongside ATMs, Link will continue recommend new banking hubs and deposit services that will protect cash services across the UK.”

Natalie Ceeney, chair at Cash Access UK, said: “With all the talk of a ‘cashless society’ I think many people will be surprised by how busy cash machines continue to be.

“For millions of people, including those on low and tight budgets, digital payments aren’t always an option. Cash is essential for many.

“Crucially, there is a now a legal obligation on the banks to ensure that people and small businesses will still be able to withdraw and bank cash across the UK.

“This applies to ATMs and also face-to-face services, which is why as bank branches close, we are rolling out banking hubs to ensure that people who need cash can still access it."