19 May 2009
It is not expected that the UK will become a cashless society any time soon, an expert from Apacs suggested.
Sandra Quinn, director of the UK payments association, believes people feel comfortable using cash as it enables them to know how much they have got.
In response to the rise in contactless payments - namely those which are made for purchases less than £10 - Ms Quinn does not believe they will change the face of UK spending entirely.
"You've still got eight billion transactions a year for transactions that are over £10 - that's quite a lot of transactions," she stressed.
It may appeal to younger generations, the expert predicted, although for older people cash will still be a preferred method of payment.
In the 12-month period leading up to March, Apacs revealed that the number of plastic card transactions totalled £1.9 billion.