The total number of cash payments made by consumers and businesses in the UK dropped to 48% in 2014 compared to 52% in 2013, according figures from the Payments Council.
For the first time, cashless payments have become more popular than payments made using coins and notes. The data revealed that total cash payments were overtaken by non-cash payments in July 2014.
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However, cash usage among consumers still accounts for over 52% of all their transactions in 2014 followed by debit cards, which account for 24% of payments.
The Payments Council said that the number of payments being made in cash is expected to fall below 50% in 2016.
According to figures from Link, the UK’s cash machine network, the number of cash machines across the country increased to a record total of nearly 69,382 in 2014.
Additionally, the number of free-to-use cash machines grew to 50,506 in 2014 following an increase of 5.2% during the year.
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By GlobalDataThe data found that most people have used using ATMs to obtain cash last year, with 91% of consumers withdrawing money from an ATM at least once a month.
