Are We Seeing the Death of Cash?

The UK is swiftly moving towards a new cultural phenomenon – the cashless society. In fact, our latest research shows, that if given the option, 26% of us would never choose to pay cash when buying an item in a shop and more than a quarter of us (26.35%) find it irritating when we have to pay by cash rather than by card. The fact that UK Finance, the new trade body for the banking industry, has reported a record number of payments on credit and debit cards in June, fuelled mainly by the popularity and continued adoption of contactless payments methods, should not come as a surprise but does conclusively prove that cash is on its way out and electronic payment methods are here to stay.

Physical money is fast becoming redundant in today’s increasingly connected society with a third (33%)^[3] of the UK stating that they never use cash anymore. The popularity of mobile and contactless payments demonstrates the changing payment landscape in the UK, lessening our dependency on cash.

PPRO Group’s latest findings are mirrored by the fact that 38 million transactions were made in 2016 using mobile payments, accounting for £288m spent using mobile phones, an astonishing 247% increase on the year before. Pubs, bars and restaurants made up for 20% of all mobile payments processed and ‘Meal Deal’ hotspots for workers buying lunch – such as supermarkets and grocery stores – accounted for 54%, further emphasising the decreasing demand for physical cash.

In the digital age, cashless payment methods are king.

Simon Black, CEO PPRO Group