Cash in running out of favour in the UK as “contactless” cards rise in popularity.
These ‘tap and go’ payments are made by swiping debit or credit cards on a terminal. By 2014 some 58m such cards were in use in the UK, with transactions more than trebled during the year worth £2.3bn.
More than 319m contactless transactions were made in 2014, the equivalent of 10 per second, compared to 100m the year before.
The use of hard cash accounted for just over 50% of transactions in 2013 and expectations are that cash payments will have dropped below this mark during 2014.
The use of plastic, particularly debit cards, has jumped by about 50% over the last five years. Online shopping has been a driving force.
But other factors have been behind the change. Transport for London, for example, said that 41m journeys had been made with contactless technology (the so-called Oyster card) since they launched it in September.
Apple’s latest iPhones soon will have a contactless payment service, while Barclaycard and others are working on additional contactless facilities.
