Consumers keep billions of pounds in cash in their homes often because they don't trust the banks, according to a survey.
British households contain £5.6bn in cash excluding money in wallets and handbags and one in 10 consumers thinks it is safer than keeping it in the bank. The average home has £216 stashed away, according to a survey from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
While a third of people said that they kept less than £20 at home, as surprising 3pc said they had more than £1,000.
The FSCS warned that often this cash was unprotected, as it was not covered by many home contents insurance policies. Even the most comprehensive cover only insures cash amounts of up to £1,000 in the home. The FSCS found that even if every household in Britain had high-end policies, there would still be £170m worth of cash unprotected.
The amount of cash that consumers keep at home has fallen, however, by £66 from £282 last year. The FSCS said this was an encouraging sign that trust in the banking sector had improved.
Mark Neale, chief executive of the FSCS, said: “In these tough times no one can afford to lose any hard-earned cash. It is encouraging that people are keeping less money at home than they did in 2011.
"In part this may be because people have less spare cash than they did 12 months ago, but hopefully it also reflects the fact that they recognised it is safest in a bank, building society or credit union which is protected by the FSCS.
"We protect all savings up to £85,000 per person per firm, which means that 99pc of the population are covered."
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