More than half of the UK public expect to abandon cash in next two years

According to new global research report 

More than half (55 per cent) of UK consumers expect to abandon using cash for shopping in the next two years, according to new research, conducted by Paysafe, a leading global payments provider. The report, called Lost in Transaction, uncovered the rapid move towards a cash-free economy with a third (34 per cent) of Britons only visiting an ATM once a month or less, and one in six saying they rarely carry cash at all, with that figure rising to one in five for under 34s. With the research showing two thirds (65 per cent) of people carrying less cash than a year ago, the move away from physical notes and coins only looks set to continue.

The comprehensive study, undertaken in the UK, US and Canada, looks at attitudes to money and consumer buying behaviour, and examines how cash is merging with digital formats. It reveals increased consumer confidence in mobile shopping, the start of a shift to new payment methods such as cryptocurrencies and the potential for retailers to lose relevance without the right payment mix for customers.

The evolution of cash into digital formats is enabling consumers to move away from carrying hard currency, with a quarter (24 per cent) already adopting mobile wallets and 12 per cent using cryptocurrencies for payments. Contactless has paved the way for this new era of payments, with three out of five consumers regularly using it for payment, 69 per cent citing it as more convenient than cash, and 44 per cent stating they preferred to shop in places that take contactless. The mass acceptance of contactless is facilitating more compatibility between retailers and emerging payment methods at point-of-sale, including digital wallets and smartphone apps.

However, there are still hurdles to overcome before more widespread adoption of digital cash plays out, with 68 per cent worrying about the security of contactless, and 58 per cent of consumers being concerned they will be charged the wrong amount when using it. There are also more basic security issues to overcome for mobile wallets with significant concerns around people’s handsets. Nearly a third (29 per cent) of people said they worried about their phone being stolen and over a quarter (28 per cent) did not even want to take their mobile out to pay. This is despite nearly two thirds (63 per cent) saying they are increasingly confident about using their mobile phone for shopping.