Notes and coins remained the most commonly used payment mechanism in the UK last year, although for the second year in a row they represented less than half of total payments, according to LINK research.
During 2015, over 17 billion payments were made in this way, down by 6% on 18 billion in 2014. This is largely due to the growth of contactless cards alongside consumers using less cash as a budgeting tool as the economy improved. Volumes in 2015 were still, however, 40% more than the second
most frequently used method – debit cards (10.1 billion) and represented a total of 45% of all payments made by consumers and businesses in 2015.
Over the next decade, meanwhile, the number of cash payments is forecast to fall by 34% to 11.3 billion. This period will also see the introduction of polymer notes and a new 12 sided £1 coin.
Further details on the research here.
By Scott Thompson
