Two-thirds (63%) said they used less cash than before the UK went into lockdown in March 2020, according to research from LINK.
More than half of the UK were also using contactless payments more in the last five years, with a third (31%) using their mobile phones more to make purchases.
Separate data from Barclays showed 95% of all purchases in-store were contactless in 2024, with shoppers using the payment method 236 times throughout the year.
Due to the rising numbers of contactless transactions and to help customers and businesses alike, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has drafted regulation to ditch the £100 limit for contactless payments.
At the other end of the spending scale, just 8% are using cash more than they did five years ago, which has been dictated by their own habits but also the availability of opportunities to use cash at retailers.
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Also, 42% noticed more places that do not accept cash, and a quarter have also experienced wanting to use the method of payment but having been denied by the store.
The lack of regularity of cash usage has also led to a 40% fall in the number of account holders using ATMs, the research found.
Post-pandemic activity impact
Meanwhile, the impact of the pandemic has also hit the activities around a quarter of Brits choose to do in their downtime.
Around a fifth are going to the cinema or going out to nightclubs and bars less, but double that number of respondents have continued to enjoy those options the same amount.
Graham Mott, director of strategy at LINK, said: “While more and more people are comfortable using contactless payments, it’s also interesting to see that some people are visiting former cash-heavy locations like cinemas, nightclubs, pubs and restaurants less often, and indeed many of these have adopted touchscreen or QR code technology, allowing customers to order and pay digitally.”
