Cash in a Digital Age: Why It Still Counts

Why Your Wallet Still Deserves a Seat at the Table

Why Your Wallet Still Deserves a Seat at the Table

New research from LINK, the UK’s cash access and ATM network, reveals that cash remains the most trusted payment method, with many customers saying it helps them stay in control of their spending.

This study is part of LINK’s ongoing research into payment and spending habits. While most consumers view contactless card payments as the fastest and most convenient option, cash is considered the best for sticking to a budget and clearly seeing the cost of purchases. Nearly two-thirds of respondents (65%) believe cash offers better fraud protection compared to 22% for contactless cards and 18% for digital wallets.

The same proportion (65%) also said using cash gives them confidence against potential issues like payment outages. In addition, 68% noted that cash benefits retailers because it is cost-effective to process.

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Choosing how we pay

Overall, more than three-quarters of people (76%) think it is important to have the choice to pay with cash, and 82% believe every shop should accept it.

• Contactless cards still lead the way – 40% of consumers choose this method, though usage has dipped slightly, possibly due to the rise of digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay.

• Cash stays strong with older shoppers – 25% of over-55s prefer cash, compared to just 8% of 25–34-year-olds.

• Cash hotspots – Supermarkets (27%) and convenience stores (26%) remain the top places for cash spending.

• Everyday essential – 69% of adults used cash in the past two weeks, a steady figure between 69%–73% since February 2022, showing stable in-person use despite overall declines.

• Cash acceptance barriers – 52% of people encountered a business in the past two months that refused or discouraged cash, up from the last survey. For 56% of them, it caused inconvenience.

Although 75% of respondents say they can easily make all their everyday payments by phone or card (compared with 11% who cannot), 89% believe it is important to keep cash available in case digital methods fail. A further 85% are concerned about the impact of a fully cashless society on those who are unable to use digital payments.

In fact, 85% fear a move to cashless could exclude vulnerable groups, and 71% view cash as essential for maintaining personal freedom.

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Completely cashless

Despite growing adoption of digital payments, 63% say they are unlikely to give up cash entirely within the next year. 8% describe themselves as completely cashless today, up slightly from 6% in late 2024.

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Cash in a Digital Age