Cash payments are making a comeback in the UK for the first time in a decade, data shows.
Reversing years of decline, the banking body UK Finance said many people had returned to physical money to help them budget as the cost of living crisis squeezes disposable incomes.
‘I’ve started using cash again – it’s much more tangible’
Ann Broom, 65, began using notes and coins again about a year ago, after decades of relying on her debit card. Broom, who retired in 2015, but has recently taken a part-time job cleaning holiday homes in Anglesey, decided to turn to physical money to better track her spending.
“I’ve always used a debit card for groceries … but when things started to get so expensive, I thought it’s so easy to swipe or contactless – I need to have a look at what I’m spending. I decided that using a debit card was a bit like using invisible money,” she says, adding that she still checks her online banking.
When she withdraws her pension, Broom divides her month’s money by the week. “Using actual money is much more tangible,” she says. She then saves any left over cash or spends it on treats during her granddaughter’s visits. “It’s really helped me to see where money goes, what is affordable and what isn’t, and it’s made me much stricter about spending.”
‘Some shops in my village don’t accept card’
In some areas, cash is still king. Christine Xavier-Gordon, 70, explains that she often needs to use notes and coins as some stores in her village in County Durham do not accept debit cards. “Cash is used quite a lot in our former mining town. The fish and chips shop and the bakery accept cash only, and there is a £5 minimum spend requirement at the newsagents,” she says. “I know it’s very expensive for them to have card machines – it eats into their margins. We have three places to get cash out in our village, an ATM, the post office and the newsagent.”
Xavier-Gordon, who is retired, finds online banking a handy way to monitor her outgoing costs. “I find it easy to keep track of money by paying with card – I can download my bank statements and see exactly what I’ve spent. But I understand that some older people, may struggle with it – my dad had a little book that he wrote everything down in.”
‘It’s easier to budget’
Jackie Machin, 65, has fought to keep paying all her bills, including energy and water, with cash at her local post office in north Wales. “I have spent my life on low incomes, and have always used cash,” says Machin, who is in receipt of benefits due to ill health.
“I have no direct debits, and have never had any credit or loans. I don’t trust direct debits – companies can put them up without permission. Having cash makes me budget properly – I can see what I have and spend accordingly. You look at the money in your purse and spend accordingly – there’s never any shock at the end of the month.”
Machin, acknowledges that a heavy reliance on cash could pose a problem if she ever needed credit, despite having no debts. “Our whole system is predicated on credit – if I needed some, I would struggle.” She says she boycotts stores that do not accept cash. “I see them as discriminating against the poor. I really think it should be mandatory for shops to take all forms of legal payment.”
‘I only pay with cash at my barbershop’
Others, however, only use cash to cover specific payments. Sho, 30, says that in London, he only ever uses cash when paying to get his hair cut. “I am yet to visit an afro barbershop in London that takes cards. As such, I always have between £5 and £20 in my wallet.”
The capital has seen the biggest decline in ATMs since 2018. “The ATM I used to use at the newsagents near my house disappeared about six months ago, which was really annoying as it means I have to travel farther to get cash out to cut my hair,” Sho, who works as a manager at a charity, says. “I can’t rely on ATMs in my area to work – either they’re broken or don’t have any cash in them.”
Although he almost exclusively makes payments using cards, Sho says keeping physical money in circulation is important. “Haircuts are the only payment I make regularly that still require cash, but I wouldn’t want to do away with cash – it would make things difficult for older people in particular.”
‘I sometimes use cash to avoid scams’
Despite being surrounded by technology, Adam, 36, sometimes turns to physical money for payments for security reasons. “As a thirtysomething, I grew up around ever-changing technology – I have a smartphone, smartwatch, all with touch pay. However, I still rely on cash and even sometimes go out of my way to get some cash from an increasingly rare cash point machine,” he says.
The ICT engineer from Kent explains that he does this on occasion because of the possibility of fraud. “I do this because I don’t trust some shops and businesses with my card payment information – it’s [possible] to clone cards using a chip and pin machine and I have nearly fallen victim to a scam before.”