AN off-licence has received praise for offering residents a new way to withdraw cash.

Experts Which? raised concerns over what it has called “wave after wave” of bank closures across the country since 2015.

Tiptree lost its Barclays branch last summer after the bank revealed four in five of its customers didn’t use it.

One of the recent proposals to offer customers, especially those elderly or vulnerable, another way to bank is LINK’s Cashback Without Purchase.

This initiative allows anyone to withdraw cash or check balances in smaller shops without needing to buy anything.

After trialling for a year the service was launched last month and The Offie in Tiptree is one of the first locations in the UK to offer it.

Tiptree resident Mike Chambers discovered this when he set out to find his nearest shop offering the new service.

He said: “As someone who has exclusively paid for things digitally for many years, obtaining cash seemed a bit strange but, in the name of research, it was good to prove that the service actually works.

“Congratulations to The Offie in Tiptree for being one of the first places in the UK where you can obtain Cashback Without Purchase.”