One in three Brits carry less than a fiver in cash, according to online payment solutions provider Skrill. The company has issued research which also finds that 21 per cent of Brits are convinced physical money will disappear over the next 20 years.

According to Skrill’s Future of Money campaign, cash is being replaced by credit or debit cards, as well as digital wallets and paying with a mobile phone. Thirty two per cent of Brits think they will use less cash over the next 10 years. They are already using it to pay for less than a third of their weekly purchases.

There remain, however, positives to using cash; 19 per cent of Brits admitted that using their credit or debit card makes it harder to keep track of their spending, with another 21 per cent saying they are less likely to stick to a budget if they don’t pay with cash.

The 2,000 Brits polled by Skrill reveal that more people are using alternative ways to pay, with 35 per cent saying they get annoyed if a shop only accepts cash. Around a third said they use their debit and credit cards to pay for everything, regardless of how small the purchase value, and 13 per cent said they even buy things they do not really need or want to take them up to a minimum transaction amount. Meanwhile, 51 per cent of people think digital wallets or online cash transfers will increase over the next few years, while 42 per cent said they will make more payments on their debit cards.

Siegfried Heimgaertner, Skrill CEO, comments: “Times are changing with cash, and even credit and debit cards increasingly making way for online transfers, digital wallets and payments via mobile phones or apps. Consumers are finding it quicker and easier to click a button than fumble with their change. With only three per cent of payments in Sweden still made in cash, the coming years are going to see radical changes in this area.”

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