Digital payments continued to grow in the UK during 2025, with mobile wallets becoming increasingly mainstream and card payments accounting for almost two-thirds of all transactions, according to new figures from UK Finance.

Research from the industry body found that total payment volumes grew to 49.7 billion transactions in 2025, a rise of two per cent compared with the previous year.

Card payments remained the dominant payment method, accounting for 64 per cent of all payments, supported by widespread contactless acceptance and growing use of mobile wallets.

Debit cards continued to be the UK's most-used payment method, representing more than half of all payments.

Contactless payments, including those made using physical cards and mobile devices, increased by two per cent to 19.2 billion transactions, accounting for 39 per cent of all UK payments. UK Finance noted that contactless represented just three per cent of transactions a decade ago.

The report also highlighted the continued rise of mobile wallets. Nearly two-thirds of UK adults were registered for at least one mobile payment service in 2025, up from 57 per cent the previous year.

Adoption was highest among younger consumers, with 89 per cent of people aged between 25 and 34 registered for a mobile wallet, compared with 29 per cent of those aged over 65.

Account-to-account payments also continued to gain momentum. Faster Payments and other remote banking payments reached 6.2 billion transactions during the year, making them the UK's second most-used payment method after debit cards. Transaction volumes increased by 10 per cent year on year, which UK Finance said was driven largely by increased business usage.

Cash use continued to decline but at a slower pace than in previous years. Cash accounted for 3.9 billion payments during 2025, down from 4.3 billion in 2024, representing eight per cent of all payments. That compares with 45 per cent of transactions in 2015.

Despite the long-term decline, UK Finance said cash remains important for some consumers. Around three per cent of UK adults, still rely primarily on cash for day-to-day spending, while around one-third of adults use cash once a month or less.

Adrian Buckle, head of research at UK Finance, said the figures show the UK is now a predominantly digital economy when it comes to making and receiving payments.

"The trends of the past decade are becoming increasingly established. Cash usage is declining, albeit more gradually, and growth across many payment methods is stabilising as the market matures,” he added.

"The industry is now entering a new phase of innovation. New payment technologies have the potential to reshape how people and businesses move money, and continued close engagement across government, regulators and industry will be essential to unlock that potential."

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