UK Be Ready list adds cash and cards

What happened

On 22 October the Cabinet Office launched Be Ready, the first stage of a three-year campaign that asks households across the UK to prepare for three days without normal services. The official checklist lists bottled water, food that needs no fridge or cooking, a torch, a battery or wind-up radio and a charged power bank. It also lists cash, as a mix of coins and notes, together with cards, with a short reason: in case electronic payments or ATMs are disrupted.

The advice quickly became one of the most-searched topics in the UK, and queries such as “beans and water sell out” appeared in Google's daily trends this week. Baked beans are not on the official list, and the government asks people to build up supplies gradually rather than buy everything at once.

What the checklist says about money

Money sits in the same group as copies of IDs, key phone numbers and important documents. The guidance does not set an amount: it says the cash you keep depends on your family's needs for essentials. According to Prepared Britain, an independent preparedness site, cash was not on the earlier Prepare kit list, so the money item is one of the visible changes in the new version.

The Cabinet Office says much of the advice has been available since May 2024 and remains largely unchanged. The UK now uses the same three-day benchmark as France, Ireland and the Netherlands.

Why payments made the list

The campaign names power cuts, loss of utilities, floods, fire and severe weather among the disruptions it has in mind. A long outage can hit phones, the internet and payment systems at the same time. Radio X reported that Wes Streeting pointed to “increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks” on businesses and asked how the country would cope if supermarket payment systems went down. The checklist's answer is simple redundancy: more than one way to pay, and a charged power bank so a phone stays usable for longer.

Background: a three-year campaign

More than 500 organisations have signed up to share Be Ready, and social media and radio adverts aimed at families with young children and older people will follow. Security Minister Dan Jarvis said that people who can follow the advice should do so, because it reduces pressure on emergency services and helps them focus on those who need more support. The British Red Cross is backing the campaign. Prepared Britain notes the advice is guidance, not an order, and suggests checking a kit every six months.

Why it matters for payments and transfers

The checklist does not cover bank transfers, but the same idea of planning ahead applies to money you send. If you support family abroad through an international money transfer or a wire transfer, it helps to check timing before a deadline rather than on the day. Questions such as “how long does a bank transfer take” are among the top money searches in Germany and Portugal this week, according to Google Trends, and a money transfer app that shows the fee and the exchange rate before you confirm makes that check easier.

What to watch next

The government plans more adverts over the coming weeks and months, and the campaign is set to run for three years. The current checklist leaves the amount of cash to each household, so watch for any further guidance on money, and for how retailers respond if demand for long-life goods keeps rising.

What it means for Odix Pay users

Be Ready lists cards as well as cash, so it makes sense to know how each of your cards works before you need it. You can manage your Odix card with the card controls in the app, and send money to bank accounts abroad with Odix Pay money transfer, which shows the fee and exchange rate before you confirm. Keep your phone charged so the app stays within reach. Availability depends on your country, and fees are shown in the app. More stories in the Odix Pay newsroom.