- Leading mobile reseller Buymobiles conducted a nationwide survey on the UK’s payment method habits.
- Findings showed an overwhelming 70% of participants preferred using cashless payment methods over actual cash.
- 63% of participants also think that using cashless payments is more helpful when it comes to keeping track of spending.
- Nearly half of respondents would leave their homes without cash and rely on their smartphones to make purchases.
A new UK wide survey, conducted by leading resellers Buymobiles, has found the vast majority of people prefer cashless payments as opposed to using physical tender.
Cashless society surveyed 2,870 UK adults to find out the nation’s attitudes towards using cashless payment methods like contactless cards or Apple/Google pay.
A whopping 70% of respondents said they prefer using cashless payment methods, with the majority (63%) citing that it helps them keep track of what they are spending better than tangible money.
The popularity of paying via smartphone was also evident, with 46% of people saying they would leave their house without cash and rely on Apple and Google Pay for their purchases.
Just 12% of respondents said they never withdraw cash, while 21% agreed that they still take cash out just once per month on average.
However, there was a reluctance from participants to go completely cashless with 41% saying they would never move over completely to alternative payment methods.
This was further supported when only 1% of respondents saying they are already completely cashless.
In fact, cash withdrawals decreased from £81 billion in 2020 to £79 billion in 2021 across the UK.
Even before the pandemic, ATM transactions were already declining around 10% annually, but that appeared to have a drastic effect on physical cash being taken out as 2020’s figures were down 40%, when compared to 2019.
It comes as no surprise that an overwhelming 82% of people, aged 20-30, prefer using cashless methods.
The older generation had slightly lower results than the younger generation. However, with 68% of those aged 60-70 opting for cashless payments, it still remains to be the preferred method.
When it comes to leaving the house without cash, 67% of those aged 20-30 were comfortable in doing so. This is huge compared to only 27% of those aged 60-70.
Jess Canning, Mobile Phone Expert at Buymobiles commended on the survey results, saying; “The findings from our UK wide survey have been fascinating, really highlighting how people’s attitudes towards cashless payment methods have become more in favour of using cash alternatives.
“There were a few surprises, especially the high percentages in the older generations. I don’t think anyone would have predicted that around two-thirds of 60-70-year-olds would prefer cashless methods.
“Spending limits have recently been upped, meaning it’s easier than ever to pay on our mobiles. It’s therefore quite surprising that under half of respondents prefer that option.”
To see the full findings from Buymobiles Cashless Society survey, visit: https://www.buymobiles.net/cashless-society-survey-results
*Survey conducted by Buymobiles and gained 2,870 responses.
Additional sources
https://www.link.co.uk/about/news/consumers-withdraw-100m-less/ (Aug 2019 to Aug 2021)
https://worldpay.globalpaymentsreport.com/en/ (2020)
https://www.fca.org.uk/publications/research/uks-cash-infrastructure-consumer-research
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