More payments are now made by card than with notes and coins, according to The Payments Council.
The use of cash to pay for goods fell to less than half of all payments made during 2014. All other payments were made by debit or credit card, cheques or electronic transactions.
The Payments Council said that the move towards mobile and contact-less payments is set to continue and that cash payments are likely to fall by as much as 30 per cent over the next ten years.
Cash is still the most commonly used payment method, however, accounting for more than eight out of every ten purchases made in pubs, newsagents and clubs last year. Nearly 80 per cent of all goods bought in convenience stores were also paid for with cash.
24 per cent of all payments were made by debit card and a further ten per cent by direct debit.
The use of cheques is continuing to fall with only 1 per cent of consumer payments made by cheque in 2014.
The Bank of England has announced plans to change the look of much of the cash we keep in our wallets and purses. There will be a new 12-sided £1 coin in 2017; a plastic £5 note in 2016; and a plastic £10 note in 2017. The plastic notes are made from polymer and have a life expectancy of twice that of the traditional paper note. Polymer bank notes are already in circulation in Scotland, a year ahead of the rest of the UK. The plastic £5 has been issued by Clydesdale Bank and commemorates the 125th anniversary of the Forth Bridge.
Other findings by The Payments Council were that only 4.4 per cent of adults rarely use cash and that the average cash withdrawal made at ATMs in 2014 was £67.
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