Over Four-Fifths Of Transactions Now Cashless

Research from the bank Halifax has revealed that 83.4% of all current account transactions are cashless, The Drum reports. This comes after cash payments declined by 8.3% compared to 2014 and now only account for 16.6% of all current account transactions. Payments made by cheque also declined by a huge 20%, meaning they now only account for 1.2% of all current account transactions.

Whilst contactless payments still only make up a small proportion of current account transactions, at 2.7%, they are experiencing the swiftest growth – accounting for £15 of every £100 spent. Is it believed that such payments will continue to grow as banks begin to implement new technology and update their systems to take such innovative payment ideas into account.

Nick Young, the head of Halifax Current Accounts, said: “We continue to see the rise of new, non-traditional entrants into the payments market. […] Consumers now have much more choice regarding payment methods and have adjusted their spending habits accordingly.”

With this in mind, cash withdrawals also witnessed a decline in popularity, now accounting for £18.33 of every £100 spent – a drop of £1.82 since 2013. Cheques are generally only used for only one transaction in every 100, but – as they usually have a fairly high value – they still make up £8.14 of every £100 spent.

Young went on to conclude that “as the number of ways to pay on debit card continues to increase, we are likely to continue to see a corresponding decline in the use of cash.” The research used data from Active Halifax personal current account customers between 2013 and 2014.