A town in Powys has been chosen to take part in an initiative aimed at helping communities access cash.

Hay-on-Wye is one of eight towns across Britain to take part in the scheme, which will see the banking industry looking for ways to keep cash circulating in rural communities.

Ways to make improvements could include, for example, installing new ATMs, having a place for retailers to deposit cash locally, or sharing bank branch facilities.

Solutions could vary depending on the needs of a community.

Other locations chosen are Ampthill in Bedforshire, Burslem in Staffordshire, Botton Village in North Yorkshire, Cambuslang in South Lanarkshire, Denny in Falkirk, Lulworth in Dorset, and Rochford in Essex.

Further locations will be confirmed in the coming weeks.

The pilot initiative is led by Natalie Ceeney, who chaired the Access to Cash Review. The findings will be published in early 2021.

Cash use has plummeted during the coronavirus outbreak, with many shops encouraging people to pay by card and people visiting ATMs less often.

According to UK Finance, 7.4 million people rarely or never used cash in 2019 - but 2.1 million used cash regularly.

Ms Ceeney said: "Over the past decade we've seen a massive shift from cash to digital payments, and Covid-19 has accelerated that trend further.

"But we know that digital payments don't yet work for everyone, and for many individuals and communities, cash remains essential.

"But the world is changing – we can't just 'magic' back our old bank branch and ATM infrastructure. Instead, we need to use innovation to develop new solutions as well as harness tried and tested approaches to meet people's needs."

Hay was chosen because it has a lot of independent retailers and visitors, making businesses' ability to access and deposit cash vital.

Its annual book festival raises additional challenges, with large numbers of people needing to access a limited cash infrastructure for a short period.