The British Retail Consortium (BRC), in its latest report for 2013, has found that Britons are still favouring cash and cards to other payment methods, such as online and mobile transactions.

According to the report, payments using neither cash nor cards only accounted for 5.78% of all transactions last year, with an average value of £5.45 ($9.13) against £6.66 in 2012.

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By contrast, the number of debit card transactions has risen constantly since 2009, now accounting for 32% of all payments, while cash purchases still represent 53% of the total.

Helen Dickinson, director general at BRC, said: "Customers are taking advantages of new ways to shop and pay. The availability of contactless cards, handy express stores and self-service tills as well as online sales has increased the use of debit cards for smaller payments in place of cash."

The report also found that credit and charge cards were used for the biggest purchases, with an average £40.81 spent per transaction in 2013. This type of payment now accounts for 9% of all transactions but for 21% by value spent.

The BRC’s latest report shows that figures are following the path started in 2012. According to the group, 2012 was the first year in the survey’s 13 year history that both the number of cash transactions and the amount spent in cash saw a decline, down respectively 6.7% and 9.7%.

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The group stated at the time: "The major gainers have been debit cards, and newer methods such as PayPal, as online and self-service grows. Increasingly people also prefer debit to credit cards as they try to manage their under-pressure finances – leaving cash and credit cards the big losers."

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