According to new research conducted by Skrill as part of their Future of Money Campaign, cash is rapidly disappearing from the wallets among Britons. The findings of the research suggest to a cashless future in the UK is possible in the not so distant future.
Key revelations of the survey found that one third of British people according to the findings carry less than five pounds (roughly $8 USD) every day and just over 20 percent of Brits believe that cash will be fully replaced by debit, credit and other alternative payment options within the next two decades.
Siegfried Heimgaertner, CEO of Skrill commented on the survey:
“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 3% of payments in Sweden still made in cash, the coming years are going to see radical changes in this area.”
While the current outlook for cash is bleak at best, Brits did acknowledge that cash has some advantages over new payment methods, particularly in terms of monitoring budgets and keeping track of payments. Around 20 percent of Brits responded that using debit and credit cards make it harder to track spending and they are less likely to stick to a budget when not using cash.
Although the decline of cash in established payment markets is well documented, the new findings point to two key factors moving forward. First, the findings suggest that the phasing out of cash might occur sooner than expected and secondly those providers of debit, credit and other alternative payment providers should look to provide personal financial management software to their consumer bases to ease some of the documented concerns.
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