• Simon Black, CEO at PPRO Group


• 12.07.2017 12:15 pm
payments

The UK is swiftly moving towards a new cultural phenomenon – the cashless society. In fact, our latest research^[1] shows, that if given the option, 26% of us would never choose to pay cash when buying an item in a shop and more than a quarter of us (26.35%) find it irritating when we have to pay by cash rather than by card. The new figures from the British Retail Consortium showing that card payments account for more than half of all retail purchases, should not come as a surprise but does conclusively prove that cash is on its way out and electronic paymentmethods are here to stay.

Physical money is fast becoming redundant in today’s increasingly connected society with a third (33%)^[3] of the UK stating that they never use cash anymore. The popularity of mobile and contactless payments demonstrates the changing payment landscape in the UK, lessening our dependency on cash.

PPRO Group’s latest findings are mirrored by the fact that 38 million transactions were made in 2016 using mobile payments, accounting for £288m^[2] spent using mobile phones, an astonishing 247% increase on the year before. Pubs, bars and restaurants made up for 20% of all mobile payments processed and ‘Meal Deal’ hotspots for workers buying lunch – such as supermarkets and grocery stores – accounted for 54%, further emphasising the decreasing demand for physical cash.

In the digital age, cashless payment methods are king.