Cashless Payments Take The Lead In The UK

For the first time ever in the UK, cashless payments have overtaken the amount forked out in notes and coins.

This is according to the Payments Council, the body which represents the payments industry in this country, and has just published its data gathered from 2014.

Cash payments made by consumers and businesses throughout 2014 dropped to 48 per cent of total outlay, down from 52 per cent in 2013.

That meant non-cash payments – including debit and credit cards, direct debits, internet-based payments, bank transfers, transactions over the phone, and yes, good old cheques which are still kicking about – took the majority share this time around with 52 per cent.

However, if you focus solely on consumers, cash still reigns king over cashless payments, with a 52 per cent share (again) if you ignore the business side of the equation. However, the Payments Council reckons that even the consumer figure for cash will drop below the 50 per cent mark next year – but we’ll see a slow decline. Cash won’t be doing a disappearing act any time soon.

Cash is, of course, still the most prevalent single payment method going by volume, with debit cards in second place, the latter being used in 24 per cent of transactions.