The demise of cash has been greatly exaggerated and families still rely on it every day, the Bank of England’s chief cashier has said.
Victoria Cleland, whose signature is on every banknote issued by the Old Lady, said that the common notion paper money was dying was mistaken.
‘Cash is not in decline,’ she said.
The end of notes has been predicted for decades, first with the rise of bank cards and now the internet revolution.
The end of notes has been predicted for decades, first with the rise of bank cards and now the internet revolution. But most retailers prefer cash in order to forgo transactions fees of some cards
Miss Cleland said that further fuel had been added to the fire by the surging use of contactless cards, which tripled to 7 per cent of all payments in 2016.
But she insisted that demand for old fashioned money was also growing fast.
Bank notes in circulation last year jumped 10 per cent, the fastest growth in a decade, hitting more than £70billion as Christmas neared.
Cash, she said, accounted for 40 per cent of all payments, and a survey by Dutch bank ING found 79 per cent of UK consumers said they would never go completely cashless.
79 per cent of UK consumers said they would never go completely cashless. Cash accounts for 40 per cent of all payments in Britain
Miss Cleland believes the ease of using it and the fact it never stops working are two key answers to the continued popularity of paper.
‘For consumers, a key benefit of cash is its tangibility. It can be a useful budgeting tool, and it is a quick and easy payment method which works even when, for example, card terminals do not,’ she said.
The top central banker added that 2.7million British people rely almost entirely on cash when making payments, a figure which has risen by 500,000 in the past two years.
She also argued that retailers like proper money because it is cheap to accept, in contrast to the expensive transaction fees they can face from some cards.
The Bank of England launched a new £10 note last month, printed on plastic rather than paper to be more hard-wearing.
The money, along with a new £5, outraged vegans and some religious groups after it emerged that it contained trace amounts of animal fat.
A new £20 is due to enter circulation in 2020.
The Royal Mint, which is responsible for coins, issued a new 12-sided £1 in March this year.