Notes and coins set to fall to just 21% of sales by 2026, raising questions for those who rely on the cash economy
Britain will move beyond “peak cash” this year, according to data gathered by the Guardian that suggests notes and coins are rapidly being supplanted as the favoured payment method, particularly in cities.
Debit cards are set to overtake cash as the most frequently used payment method in the UK later this year, according to UK Finance, which represents leading finance and banking firms.
The volume of cash removed from cash machines (ATMs) is falling fast, while other data shows customers are eschewing cash for cards – even for small purchases such as a coffee or a beer.
In 2006, 62% of all payments in the UK were made using cash; in 2016 the proportion had fallen to 40%. By 2026, it is predicted cash will be used for just 21%, according to figures from UK Finance.
ATM data show that in 2016, there were 2.7bn withdrawals from the country’s 70,000 cash machines – the lowest number of transactions since 2010. The total amount of money withdrawn at ATMs has fallen steeply in the last few years; in 2016, people withdrew more than £6bn less than they did in 2015.
Bank of England figures meanwhile show that while the volume of cash in the economy typically increases every year, it is now doing so at the slowest rate since 1972.
In the developed world, Sweden and Canada are at the vanguard of the recent move away from cash, as debit cards, credit cards, phone payment methods and apps and online transfers predominate.
In the UK, even at cafes and pubs, where people buy smaller value items, card payments are taking over. The pub chain Wetherspoon reported that the proportion of cash payments has fallen by about five percentage points every year for the past four years, dropping from 78% of all purchases in 2012-13 to 60% in 2016-17.
As few as one in 10 customers pay in cash at cafes – and a few have jettisoned cash altogether.
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