The average person in the UK relies heavily on the use of debit cards and uses cash for purchases of just £9.47.
Shoppers have switched to the use of debit cards, credit cards and make more purchases online. While cash is still in play, the number of transactions and the average amount spent has fallen year-on-year.
The current average of £9.47 is down 17% from 2009, when the average was £11.43. Over that period the number of debit card transactions rose.
Shoppers are clearly resorting more often to using their cards to pay for goods, including smaller items, instead of cash.
New techniques, such as contactless cards, self-service tills and online shopping, have encouraged greater card use.
Despite this, cash still accounted for just over 50% of all transactions. Debit card use made up one-third, and the remainder was by credit and charge cards and their ilk.
Credit and charge cards were deployed for the most expensive purchases.
Banks were criticised by the British Retail Consortium, which released the figures, for increasing charges to retailers for debit and credit card use. Retailers had to pay nearly 41 pence per credit card transaction and 9 pence for debit card ones.
European proposals to cap how much banks can charge retailers for this are reaching final approval, but will not come into effect for some time yet. Some European countries have already introduced caps on these fees.
