“87% of Britons prefer cashless payments”
8 out of 10 people made a contactless payment in the last year
As COVID restrictions ease, some aspects of life will gradually return to normal. However, many changes made through necessity will remain, one of those is almost certainly a significant reduction in payments made using cash.
87% of Britons prefer cashless payments
In a survey conducted by YouGov, 50% of Britons admit to paying with cash less since the start of the coronavirus outbreak. As if half of the population wasn’t enough, this doesn’t even include the 37% who answered the same survey with, “I mostly didn’t use cash before and still don’t.”
Overall, this equates to 87% of Britons favouring cashless ways of paying. With over 50 million adults in the UK, that is close to 45 million people who are now looking to avoid paying with cash wherever possible.
Only 8% of the UK public are still using cash payments to the same extent as pre-pandemic. However, it is important to note that this still represents close to 5 million people and a continuing dependency on cash is high among older and vulnerable people. 42% of over 85-year-olds told an FCA Financial Lives Survey that they rely heavily on cash, with 46% of those classed as digitally excluded and 31% of those with no educational qualifications reporting the same dependency.
COVID accelerates cashless society
The gradual shift to contactless cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and other device-enabled payment methods was already underway, but there is no denying that COVID has accelerated it dramatically as we’ve all become more conscious of areas where surfaces are shared and germs transmitted, such as handling cash. One step to grease the wheels of change was the 50% increase in the contactless payment limit from £30 to £45 – a move certainly driven by the pandemic and the government encouraging us all to take the contact-free payment option wherever possible.
Cashless Payment – How to serveIT to your patrons
James Breakell, Managing Director of D-Tech UK, explains how the library technology provider is helping its customers adapt: “84% of adults have made a contactless payment in the last year. From even a decade ago this represents an overwhelming shift in public behaviour. We believe it is essential that, as vital community spaces, libraries reflect changes in the expectations of patrons, past and present, such as the general move away from cash. To help libraries cater for the evolving expectations of their patrons, our serveIT range of next generation self-service kiosks are available with multiple cashless payments, including contactless, Apple Pay and Google Pay.
“We are also extremely conscious that a majority doesn’t include every patron. A great number of those still paying with cash are older or more vulnerable people, many of whom view their local library as a lifeline, which is why our serveIT range also includes cash payment functionality, including coin and note receptors and change giving facilities.”
