Majority of Brits still paying for things with cash

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Despite the pervasively grim headlines that cash is on its way out, the vast majority of people in the UK are still using notes and coins to pay for things.

The news came  by way of a report recently released by the Payment Systems Regulator, the country's economic regulator for the payment systems industry.

According to the research, more than 80% of Brits paid for something using cash in the previous week. And while most of them preferred using cards to make payments, more than a quarter preferred cash, and those who budget with cash, also preferred to pay in cash.   

"Cash continues to play an important role in our economy, and while the use of digital payments is growing, most of us still make regular use of cash," Chris Hemsley, co-managing director of PSR, said in a company press release.

PSR commissioned BritainThinks for the research, which surveyed more than 1,500 consumers and 500 small business. In terms of UK consumers, the research revealed:

• Most (83%) consumers made a payment with cash on a weekly basis.
• A majority (69%) of consumers preferred to use cards.
• Over a quarter of consumers (28%) preferred using cash, especially for budgeting and control purposes (reported by over half of that 28%).
• Nearly all consumers found it easy to withdraw or access cash (95%), something that is true for both those that stated that they preferred cash and those that did not.
• 16% said they needed to travel out of their way to access cash, while many saw a trip to an ATM as part of their normal routine.

As for the small UK businesses, the survey showed:

• Most small businesses deposited cash in the bank.
• Cash was recycled through small businesses when they psif suppliers and employees in cash or it was taken as personal wages.
• Over half of the small businesses surveyed (54%) accepted cash, rising to 91% in accommodation and food services.
• A minority of small businesses (13%) preferred cash.
• Small businesses reported that their choice of which payment methods to accept was strongly influenced by what  customers wanted.

PSR said it hoped the work would contribute to the ongoing debate on consumers' use of cash. 

In May, the UK government established the Joint Authorities Cash Strategy Group to "safeguard the future of cash and ensure its availability for years to come" and stated a commitment to act on the Access to Cash Review, a report prepared on behalf of UK ATM network Link, supporting the idea that digital cash was not enough.