The use of cash in transactions in the UK has grown for the first time in 10 years, says the British Retail Consortium.
The reason, says the consortium, is that British shoppers are now carefully watching their budgets in face of rising prices. Nineteen per cent of purchases were made with coins and bills last year, according to figures newly accumulated.
This is in line with reports from banks that also showed a slight rise and a similar one in September by UK Finance.
The news comes against a background in which the financial regulator is taking steps to ensure that British citizens should be able to access cash. Banks will be fined if they fail to permit cash to be deposited or withdrawn.
The 19 per cent cash transactions last year was up from 15 per cent in 2021. Up to 2015 cash was used in over half of transactions.
The Retail Consortium also lamented the increasing scale of fees that retailers have to pay in order to accept card payments, but noted that now cash payments were on the rise, with more transactions, although smaller.
Up to the end of last year most payments were made with debit cards at £22.7bn. Cash was at £6.3bn and credit cards £4.0bn.
