03/08/11
By Karen Moss
One in eight shoppers no longer carry cash and half believe coins and notes will become obsolete in the future, according to Barclaycard and Barclays. Their research found that the average British wallet contains just £23 and 57 per cent of people refuse to carry one or two penny coins.
The findings of Barclays’ survey are in contrast to independent research commissioned by retail and banking technology company, Wincor Nixdorf. Their results, published last week, showed that over two thirds of shoppers in the UK believe cash is still king.
Of the consumers questioned on behalf of Wincor Nixdorf, 58 per cent save card purely for large transactions and almost a third felt more in control of their finances when paying by cash.
However, Barclays say half of us give away small change in some form – either to charity, to children, or simply by throwing it in the bin. And two thirds of people find carrying cash inconvenient with the top reasons for avoiding cash including the nuisance of receiving a pile of coins back in change, the weight of coins, and the amount of space cash takes up.
Dan Wass, head of current accounts and contactless at Barclays, says: “Although we are far from becoming a ‘cashless society’, it’s clear from our research that cash is no longer king. Consumers are increasingly less willing to carry large amounts of change around with them and many believe that coins will become obsolete in the future.”
The research also revealed that almost half of consumers (44 per cent) now recognise the contactless logo at the point of sale, And 62 per cent are aware that cards in general are contactless capable.
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