Honesty boxes should be dying like cash. But many are flourishing

"The 36-year-old founded Dunk Cookies just before the pandemic. She installed the honesty box earlier this year and it has brought in enough money to pay the rent at her bakery on a nearby industrial estate. "The honesty box means we can be part of my community - bringing something to them, rather than the business being solely online," says the affable Annabelle."

"With cash use falling, they might be expected to disappear - a roadside relic as we all pull onto the technology superhighway. But, in fact, many are flourishing. Cash payments are being replaced with online transfers via QR codes, and small traders are using honesty boxes as part of their marketing on social media. That online marketing has a payoff. Some are finding that instead of just attracting passing trade, customers are making a special journey to buy from them."

Honesty boxes remain common on rural lay-bys and now feature digital payment options such as QR-code transfers alongside cash. Small traders use social media to promote honesty boxes, with online posts and restock videos attracting customers from further afield. Some operators report that honesty-box sales pay business costs and integrate the business into the local community. Customers often make deliberate journeys to purchase items rather than just pass by, and most purchasers pay accurately when shown counting takings. Vendors report rapid turnover on school-run routes and consistent daily opening and restocking schedules.

Read at BBC News