In a new report Payments UK, a domestic trade association has predicted that by 2024 British consumers will only buy something with cash twice every three days, and only write two checks a year. According to Payments UK, debit cards will be the most common method of payment, followed by cash and direct debits. While Payments UK does not break out the payment form factor (mobile versus card) it strongly believes that small-value transactions will shift from cash to contactless cards or mobile enabled handset.
According to Payments UK there will be 44 billion payments will be made in 2024, equating to 120 million payments per day. Cards (both debit and credit) accounted for 51% of the volume of non-cash payments in 2014, but by 2024 they are projected to account for 60% of non-cash transactions. Debit cards account for the large majority of card payments and the number of debit card payments per adult per year will rise from 172 to 282 by 2024 whereas the number of credit card payments per adult per year will increase from 41 to 53.
While it is difficult to know the level of consumer use of different payment types nearly 10 years from now, it is clear that electronic payments are on the rise. The increase in the number of electronic payments per adult per year across all types comes at the expense of traditional payment methods like cash and checks. Though the industry believes these payment types might be removed from circulation sooner, it’s clear that cash in particular will remain important well into the future.
Overview by Tristan Hugo-Webb, Associate Director, Global Payments Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group
Read the full story here
